The Lower Saxony Democracy Monitor (NDM) analyses the political culture of the state of Lower Saxony every two years. In 2025, nearly 1,500 randomly selected residents of Lower Saxony aged 16 and over were surveyed about their political views. The Democracy Monitor finds that democracy in Lower Saxony and its key players are coming under increasing pressure, without this leading to an acute systemic crisis. The vast majority of people in Lower Saxony support democracy as a form of government, but trust in political actors is waning. Furthermore, certain issues are highly polarising, without two distinct social camps emerging. A key finding of the Democracy Monitor is a shift to the right in the political landscape. At the same time, dissatisfaction with democracy is rising. This also fuels an openness to undemocratic elements of governance. Furthermore, trust in political parties and politicians, as well as satisfaction with the federal government’s policies, remain at very low levels. Satisfaction with the state government’s policies, on the other hand, is high across party lines. This demonstrates the stabilising potential of federalism, which can act as a buffer against dissatisfaction.