Germany's Social
Democrats (SPD) polled 31 percent in a survey on Wednesday, benefiting from a
surge in support since nominating Martin Schulz as leader and
narrowing the gap
to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.
The poll for Stern
magazine and broadcaster RTL, published just over seven months before federal
elections, was the first by the Forsa institute to give the SPD above 30
percent since October 2012.
Merkel's
conservative bloc, made up of her Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian
sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU), lost 1 percentage point to 34
percent.
The SPD gained 5
points from the previous Forsa survey.
The poll showed as
many Germans would vote for Schulz, who was previously European Parliament
president, as for Merkel if there were a direct vote for chancellor, with both
on 37 percent.
The SPD, Merkel's
junior coalition partner, has been trailing the conservatives for years in
opinion polls and last won an election under Gerhard Schroeder in 2002.
On Monday a
different poll showed the SPD would beat Merkel's conservatives had an election
been held that day.
But Forsa head
Manfred Guellner said: "We're not yet seeing such a decisive mood for
change as we did in 1998 when Gerhard Schroeder was able to score points due to
widespread weariness after 16 years of Helmut Kohl," he said.
Schroeder was German
chancellor from 1998 to 2005, replacing the CDU's Helmut Kohl, who was elected
West German Chancellor in 1982 and remained leader of a reunified country until
1998.
The Forsa poll put
the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) in third place on 10 percent
while the Greens and the far-left Linke were on 8 percent each.
The federal election
is due on Sept. 24 and Merkel reiterated on Tuesday that it would be the
"toughest that I have ever experienced".
The poll of 2,501
people was conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 3.
*REUTERS*
*REUTERS*
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