MOSCOW (Sputnik) — German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) headed by incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel and its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) currently lead over their main opponent, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), headed by Martin Schulz, by 10 percent in the race to determine who will be seated as the next German chancellor just four months before the general election, a fresh poll revealed.
According to the poll by the Emnid public opinion research company for the German Bild am Sonntag newspaper, 37 percent of German citizens currently support Merkel's conservative bloc, while 27 percent prefer Schulz's SPD. This is the lowest SPD rating, since Schulz was elected as a nominee for the post of the chancellor from this party in January, according to the media outlet.
In late April, this gap was 8 percent with 37 percent in favor of Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative bloc and 29 percent for the rival side.
The poll was conducted on May 4-10 and involved 1900 respondents.
Germany's federal elections, which will elect a new government and chancellor, are slated for September 24, 2017.
