German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) headed by incumbent Chancellor Angela Merkel and its Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU) are currently supported by 36 percent of Germans, a poll showed on Wednesday.
Their main opponent, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), trails behind with 29 percent just four months before the general election.
The Left party comes in a distant third with 8 percent of projected votes, the poll prepared by the Forsa pollster for the German magazine Stern and the RTL broadcaster demonstrated. The Greens party, the Eurosceptic Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) are each expected to receive 7 percent of the vote.
A total of 23 percent of respondents said they would not vote or have not decided which party they would support.
The poll also showed that if the chancellor were elected directly, Merkel would win with a 48 percent backing. Under those same circumstances, former President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, who is the incumbent chairman of the SPD, would only be supported by 27 percent of the vote.
Nine out of ten CDU supporters welcome Merkel as the next German chancellor, whereas Schulz is endorsed by 67 percent of SPD sympathizers, according to the poll.
Germany’s parliamentary elections are slated for September 24.