Merkel’s Bloc Support Drops on Power Struggle as Greens Close In
Merkel’s Bloc Support Drops on Power Struggle as Greens Close In
(Bloomberg) -- Support for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc has dropped to its weakest level since October 2018, as her party is embroiled in a leadership contest and as Europe’s largest economy struggles with low growth and the fallout from the coronavirus.
Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, would together garner 24%, down one percentage point from a week earlier, according to a weekly survey conducted by Kantar for Bild’s Sunday edition.
The drop means the opposition Greens are just two percentage points behind, on 22%. The Social Democrats and the anti-capitalist Left party are on 17% and 9%, respectively.
The leaders of the governing coalition, which is made up of the CDU/CSU and the SPD, will meet later Sunday in Berlin to discuss possible measures to deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus. The country’s influential industry federation BDI on Thursday warned of a recession and urged the government to consider stimulus measures.
The government is considering looser rules for companies to apply for short-time work support and expanding programs for loans and guarantees to ease a cash crunch from disruptions to supply and demand. The government may also accelerate plans to phase out the so-called solidarity tax, which helped finance Germany’s reunification costs over three decades.
Following a political crisis that forced CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to step aside last month, party delegates will elect a new chair at a convention on April 25. Merkel critic Friedrich Merz and loyalist Armin Laschet are the leading contenders.
The poll by Kantar surveyed 1,423 people between Feb. 27 and March 3. No margin of error was given.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Reiter in Berlin at creiter2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Nick Rigillo, Christopher Sell
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