Germany: 58 Percent of People Want Change of Government

Photo: Germany: 58 Percent of People Want Change of Government

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’ll “fight for every vote” in the run-up to Sept. 27 elections as her Social Democratic challenger gained in polls after their only televised debate.

Merkel, in a briefing to reporters in Berlin today, said her Christian Democrats have a “good chance of achieving our goal” to ditch Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s Social Democrats in favor of a coalition with the opposition Free Democrats after the election.

While she urged caution on poll figures, Merkel said that “what I read now is quite encouraging for the political scenarios we have and makes me want to fight for every vote in the remaining days” of the campaign.

Nine days before an election that will decide the future direction of Europe’s biggest economy, polls show Steinmeier’s Social Democrats closing on Merkel’s party. While Merkel still holds a lead of 9-13 percentage points, all five polls released this week show combined support for the Christian Democrats and Free Democrats dipping below 50 percent, Bloomberg reports.

It was also reported, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have enough support to form a centre-right coalition with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).

The poll by the Electoral Research Group for ZDF television, which was released just over a week before the September 27 vote, put support for Merkel's conservative bloc unchanged at 36 percent and the FDP down one point at 13 percent.

The SPD was up two points from a week ago at 25 percent, the Greens down one point to 10 percent and the Left unchanged at 11 percent, The New York Times reports.

In the meantime, Merkel is pledging tax relief and hopes to halt a plan to shut down all Germany's 17 nuclear plants by 2021. The Social Democrats oppose both ideas.

ARD's poll found that 58 percent of people would like a change of government, while 35 percent believe the "grand coalition" of Germany's biggest parties should continue.

Both polls were conducted between Tuesday and Thursday and gave a margin of error of plus or minus about three percentage points. ARD surveyed 1,252 people and ZDF polled 1,352, The Associated Press reports.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’ll “fight for every vote” in the run-up to Sept. 27 elections as her Social Democratic challenger gained in polls after their only televised debate.

Merkel, in a briefing to reporters in Berlin today, said her Christian Democrats have a “good chance of achieving our goal” to ditch Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s Social Democrats in favor of a coalition with the opposition Free Democrats after the election.

While she urged caution on poll figures, Merkel said that “what I read now is quite encouraging for the political scenarios we have and makes me want to fight for every vote in the remaining days” of the campaign.

Nine days before an election that will decide the future direction of Europe’s biggest economy, polls show Steinmeier’s Social Democrats closing on Merkel’s party. While Merkel still holds a lead of 9-13 percentage points, all five polls released this week show combined support for the Christian Democrats and Free Democrats dipping below 50 percent, Bloomberg reports.

It was also reported, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives have enough support to form a centre-right coalition with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).

The poll by the Electoral Research Group for ZDF television, which was released just over a week before the September 27 vote, put support for Merkel's conservative bloc unchanged at 36 percent and the FDP down one point at 13 percent.

The SPD was up two points from a week ago at 25 percent, the Greens down one point to 10 percent and the Left unchanged at 11 percent, The New York Times reports.

In the meantime, Merkel is pledging tax relief and hopes to halt a plan to shut down all Germany's 17 nuclear plants by 2021. The Social Democrats oppose both ideas.

ARD's poll found that 58 percent of people would like a change of government, while 35 percent believe the "grand coalition" of Germany's biggest parties should continue.

Both polls were conducted between Tuesday and Thursday and gave a margin of error of plus or minus about three percentage points. ARD surveyed 1,252 people and ZDF polled 1,352, The Associated Press reports.