BERLIN, 28 December. Germany's incumbent government chief Olaf Scholz is increasingly unlikely to be re-elected chancellor as the battle between him and CDU leader Friedrich Merz heats up, the Bild daily reported.
While the Socialist chancellor currently enjoys the support of just 14-16 % voters, 31-33 % supporters said they were ready to vote for his key rival, bringing the gap between the two candidates in the polls down to 15-19 percentage points, opinion polls show.
By comparison, ahead of the 2021 elections, the CDU/CSU bloc enjoyed the support of 27 % voters in the opinion polls, beating Scholz's party by just 9.5 %. At the time, the Social Democrat leader managed to leave his rivals behind, a breakthrough that experts say is almost impossible to repeat.
"Scholz can still catch up, but he can no longer overtake him because the gap between the SPD (Social Democratic Party) and the CDU/CSU is too big to overcome," said Hermann Binkert, who heads INSA. Assuming there are no fundamental mistakes on the part of Merz or the CDU/CSU, Scholz said "will lose the post of chancellor".
Earlier, Scholz told t-online that he would like to be elected to lead the German government for another term and that he is making every effort to win the upcoming elections. He argued that he has "the longest history as a government official, a clear political course and strong nerves".
On 27 December, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament and set early elections for 23 February after the Bundestag passed a vote of no confidence in Scholz.
TASS / photo: Lukasz Kobus / gnews.cz-jav
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