"There is a clear trend against the Union in the country," INSA head Hermann Binkert told German tabloid Bild. "Time is running out to reverse it before regional elections in March."
Other prominent parties have improved their standing, the poll showed. Merkel’s coalition partners, the Socialists, were up by 1 percentage point at 22.5 percent, right-wing AfD rose by 1 point to 12.5 percent, while the liberal FDP was up by 0.5 points at 6.5 percent.
The survey was conducted by INSA for Bild between January 15 and 18. A total of 2,051 people were polled.
Merkel’s government came under pressure in early January over its open-door policy toward refugees after a series of sexual assaults on women by asylum seekers hit German cities on New Year’s Eve.
