Merkel Gains 13% Lead Over Schulz in Chancellor Race Five Months Before Vote

Incumbent German Chancellor Angela Merkel leads over her primary rival, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) Martin Schulz, by 13 percent in the race to determine who will be seated as the next German chancellor five months ahead of the election, a new poll revealed Friday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — According to the ZDF-Politbarometer poll, a total of 50 percent of German citizens favor Merkel as the next chancellor, while 37 percent prefer Schulz. In early April, this gap was eight percent with 48 percent in favor of the incumbent chancellor and 40 percent for her rival.

Merkel's conservative bloc of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Socialists (CSU) improved its results compared to the previous poll, receiving 37 percent (35 percent in early April), while Schulz's SPD worsened its results, receiving 29 percent (32 percent in early April).

The German Left Party (Die Linke) maintains 9 percent of the respondents' support. The Green's party is favored by eight percent, as well as the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is being supported by six percent of respondents.

The poll was conducted on April 25-27 and involved 1328 respondents.

Germany's federal elections, which will elect a new government and chancellor, are slated for September 24, 2017.