German Social Democrats Maintain Leadership 16 Days Before Federal Elections, Poll Shows

BERLIN (Sputnik) - The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) maintains a slim leadership more than two weeks before the federal elections, a survey published by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on 10 September said.

The poll said that 25% of respondents support the SPD followed by the ruling conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) with 22%. As many as 17% of people seek to vote for The Greens, with 11% for each of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

As for candidates for chancellor, 48% of respondents support SPD’s Olaf Scholz, however, he lost 5% in comparison with the last week. Although the rating of Armin Laschet from the CDU/CSU increased by 3%, only 21% are ready to vote for him. The Greens' Annalena Baerbock comes third with 16% (+2%).

The survey was conducted from September 7-9 via a phone interview. There is no information on the number of respondents and the margin of error.

Germany will hold the federal elections on September 26, after which the winning party will appoint the federal chancellor to head the government and replace incumbent Angela Merkel.