German election 2017 polls latest: Updates and poll tracker as Merkel takes on Schulz
EIU EPA Getty German election poll 2017: Angela Merkel takes on Martin Schulz
The former European Parliament President remains defiant despite trailing behind Angela Merkel with just six weeks to go until the election. In a television interview, Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Martin Schulz insisted: “I reckon that I’ve got a good chance.” The German Chancellor’s approval rating has dropped by 10 points to 59 per cent, according to the latest Deutschland Trend’ poll by ARD. But the poll does not signal a boost for Mr Schulz because his approval rating also fell four per cent to just 33 per cent.
The latest Emnid opinion poll, for Sunday's Bild am Sonntag newspaper, put Mrs Merkel’s conservative bloc on 38 percent, 16 points ahead of the SPD on 24 per cent. Her Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) party and the Christian Social Union (CSU) are currently part of a grand coalition with the SPD. Ahead of the election on September 24, the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) was on just 8 percent after losing support this year. The Emnid poll put support for the far-left Left party at 10 per cent, with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) on 8 per cent and and the Greens on 7 per cent.
ARD German election poll 2017: The latest approval ratings from the Deutschland Trend poll by ARD
Although Mrs Merkel looks on track to win the election on September 24, it is not know if she would form a coalition with the SPD, the Greens or FDP. Pepijn Bergsen, Germany analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said it is increasingly likely that Mrs Merkel’s CDU will win the largest share of the vote. In an analysis piece, he said: “The most interesting question that will be answered in the election is how the smaller parties will fare, as this will determine the type of coalition that will emerge. “All of the smaller parties that are likely to cross the 5% electoral threshold—the FDP, The Greens, the Left Party and the far-right, populist Alternative for Germany (AfD)—are polling at around 8%.
Emnid German election 2017 polls: The latest Emnid opinion poll for Sunday's Bild am Sonntag newspaper
EIU German election polls: A graph from the Economist Intelligence Unit