Almost half of Germany’s first-time voters back Angela Merkel, a poll by the Forsa Institute showed on Tuesday.
Manfred Guellner, who heads the Forsa institute, said the poll has, however, provided a strong backbone of support for the chancellor as she prepares to bid for a fourth term in office in September.
“Among all potential voters, Merkel had 43 per cent support, compared to 32 per cent for Martin Schulz, the chancellor candidate for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
“But that lead extended to 47 per cent against 29 per cent among young voters aged 18 to 21.“Young people know Chancellor Merkel, with whom they grew up, but not the candidate Schulz,’’ Guellner stressed.
He said the latest data showed that “especially young people are looking for stability and continuity in these uncertain times”.
The elder stateswoman of western European politics, Merkel has come under fire at home for initially opening Germany’s doors to over one million refugees.
Facing what is likely to be a close-fought ballot, she has toughened her stance on immigration in recent months.
A second survey by INSA for the mass-circulation Bild newspaper gave the CDU/CSU a 1.5 point lead ahead of the Sept. 24 national election.
The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which had seen its support weaken in recent months, was steady at 8 per cent in the Forsa poll, adding 1 point to 10 per cent in the INSA poll.
The pro-business Free Democratic Party remains likely to return to parliament, gaining one percentage point to 6 percent in the Forsa poll and 1.5 percentage points to 6.5 percent in the INSA poll.
Both Merkel and Schulz are hoping to form new governments with smaller parties, but the two polls suggested the “grand coalition” the two parties currently operate is likely to continue. (Reuter/NAN)