Poll: Merz and Scholz on a par in direct comparison
Published: Friday, Dec 20th 2024, 13:40
Zurück zu Live Feed
Nine weeks before the general election in Germany, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and opposition leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) are roughly tied in a direct comparison, according to a survey.
When asked who they would rather have as Chancellor, Scholz or Merz, 44 percent voted for the challenger from the CDU/CSU and 43 percent for the incumbent in the latest ZDF "Politbarometer". 13 percent answered "don't know".
In a comparison of the four candidates for chancellor from the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens and AfD, Merz performs best. 29% would prefer him as chancellor, 25% would prefer Robert Habeck (Greens). Scholz is tied with Alice Weidel (AfD) with 16%.
Christian Democrats still clearly ahead in Sunday poll
The figures say less about the possible election result, as parties are elected in Germany. If federal elections were held on Sunday, the CDU/CSU would receive 31%, the AfD 19%, the SPD 15% and the Greens 14%, according to the survey. The FDP could miss out on a place in parliament with 3%, as could the Left Party with 4%. The BSW would be at 5 percent.
Around a third of respondents (29%) believe that policy would improve under a CDU/CSU-led federal government. The proportion of those who do not expect any changes is significantly higher (48%). In such a case, 18% expect policy to be worse.
The Bundestag is expected to be elected on February 23, seven months earlier than originally planned. Scholz's "traffic light" coalition (SPD, FDP, Greens) collapsed in November in a dispute over budget policy.
©Keystone/SDA
German 
English 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic