Merkel’s Conservatives in Germany maintain clear lead in election poll

BERLIN (AA) - Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) are maintaining a clear lead over the Greens and the Social Democrats, according to a new poll conducted by INSA ahead of next month’s general election.

The poll commissioned for Bild daily showed support for the conservative CDU/CSU alliance at 27.5%, nearly 10 points ahead of the Greens and the Social Democrats, both currently polling at 18%.

The survey put support for the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) at 13%, while the far-right xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) polled at 11%.

The results show the Christian Democrats would need at least two coalition partners to form a government with majority support.

After 16 years in power, Chancellor Angela Merkel is quitting active politics this year, and her conservative CDU/CSU bloc picked Armin Laschet, a pragmatic moderate politician, to lead them into the election.

Laschet has suffered a significant drop in his popularity in recent weeks, from factors including a gaffe during a flood disaster, but for many observers he is still the most likely candidate to succeed Merkel as chancellor.

In a recent poll by public broadcaster ZDF, 69% of voters said for them the question of which parties would govern after the election was more important than their chancellor candidates. Only 22% said they would choose a party according to its chancellor candidate.