Merkel keeps strong lead despite opposition boost

BERLIN - Agence France-Presse

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (C) arrives at an election campaign event in Düsseldorf amid a continuing wave of popularity ahead of Sept 22 polls. AP photo

Less than two weeks before German elections, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are maintaining a strong lead despite an increase in support for the opposition Social Democrats, according to a new poll released yesterday.

Merkel also boasted a 26-point edge in her personal approval rating over her Social Democratic Party (SPD) rival, Peer Steinbrück, ahead of the Sept. 22 vote.

Although Merkel fell three points and Steinbrück gained three after the campaign’s only TV clash on Sept. 1, she still enjoyed a massive 52-26 percent lead in the Forsa Institute poll.

The chancellor’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its CSU Bavarian sister party scored a total of 39 percent, while their coalition allies the Free Democrats polled at 6 percent.

Their combined 45 percent compared to 25 percent for the center-left SPD, up two points, and 9 percent for its opposition allies, the Greens, giving the environmental party their worst rating in four years.

The far-left Linke party rose to 10 percent, meaning that the major opposition parties between them scored 44 percent, just one point behind the ruling coalition.

However the SPD and Greens have insisted they consider the leftist party too extreme and would not form a “red-red-green” government.

The anti-euro party AFD and the Internet freedom party the Pirates both polled 3 percent, placing them below the 5 percent threshold necessary to enter Parliament.

A wild card remains the large number of undecided voters or respondents who said they would not cast their ballots, who between them made up 28 percent of those polled.

The Forsa Institute poll of 2,500 voters was conducted for RTL private television and news weekly Stern between Sept. 3 and 9.

Their combined 45 percent compared to 25 percent for the center-left SPD, up two points, and 9 percent for its opposition allies, the Greens, giving the environmental party their worst rating in four years.

The far-left Linke party rose to 10 percent, meaning that the major opposition parties between them scored 44 percent, just one point behind the ruling coalition.

However the SPD and Greens have insisted they consider the leftist party too extreme and would not form a “red-red-green” government. The anti-euro party AFD and the Internet freedom party the Pirates both polled 3 percent, placing them below the 5 percent threshold necessary to enter Parliament.

A wild card remains the large number of undecided voters or respondents who said they would not cast their ballots, who between them made up 28 percent of those polled.

The Forsa Institute poll of 2,500 voters was conducted for RTL private television and news weekly Stern between Sept. 3 and 9.