MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The INSA poll for the Bild newspaper carried out between March 24 and March 27 among 2,034 people showed that both parties now stand at 32 percent.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in third with 11 percent of votes.
The SPD and the CDU/CSU have been ruling Germany in a "grand coalition" since last general election in 2013. The new vote is scheduled for September 24.
They have been running neck-and-neck in polls after former European Parliament chief Martin Schulz took over as the SPD’s leader in January. He is the only challenger of Merkel in the race for chancellorship.
