German conservatives back in front in opinion poll

According to a new opinion poll, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative bloc is again ahead of the Greens, while the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) have caught up with the Social Democrats (SPD) in third place ahead of elections in the autumn.

In the new RTL/ntv Trend Barometer, the Christian Democrats and their Bavarian sister party (CDU/CSU) gained one percentage point and could currently expect 25 per cent of the vote, according to data published on Wednesday by the opinion research institute Forsa.

The Greens, on the other hand, lost one point compared to the previous week and are at 24 per cent.

The FDP gained one point and is now on a par with the SPD with 14 per cent each.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lost one percentage point to 9 per cent. The hard-left Die Linke (Left Party) would achieve 6 per cent if federal elections were held on Sunday.

In the choice for chancellor, Green Party leader Annalena Baerbock is still ahead, but her lead over her rivals Armin Laschet for the CDU/CSU bloc and Olaf Scholz of the SPD has shrunk.

If Germans could directly elect their chancellor, 24 per cent would currently opt for Baerbock, eight percentage points fewer than five weeks ago, shortly after her nomination.

CDU leader Laschet would currently get 19 per cent, up one percentage point, while Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Scholz would still get 14 per cent. A sizeable 43 per cent of respondents would not choose any of the three.