Conservative Merz maintains strong lead in German election race : Survey

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) — Conservative leader Friedrich Merz's CDU/CSU bloc maintains a substantial lead in the latest opinion surveys as the country enters the crucial final month of electoral campaigning.

A YouGov poll released Wednesday showed the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) at 28% of voter support, despite a two-percentage-point drop from the previous week. Despite this lead, Merz would need a coalition partner to form a government.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) had gained momentum, rising one point to 19% and sharing second place with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which had fallen two points.

The Greens improved their position by climbing one point to 15%, marking their strongest showing in YouGov polling since April 2024. Among smaller parties, the left-wing populist BSW garnered 6% support, while both the liberal FDP and The Left remained at 4%, falling below the threshold required for parliamentary representation.

Germany, the EU's largest economy, is heading to snap elections on Feb. 23 following a political crisis that emerged in late 2024. The early vote comes after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition government due to mounting tensions between his Social Democrats and their junior partner, the FDP, over budget constraints and spending priorities.