CDU leads amid fierce migration debate in German elections
Before Sunday's Bundestag elections, the Christian Democrats maintain a clear lead. The Left Party has gained slightly, according to the latest poll by the Forsa Institute. Support for other parties remains at a similar level.
Compared to the survey conducted between 4th and 10th February, right after the Bundestag votes on migration policy and the TV debate among major party candidates for chancellor, the ratings for the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Left Party both increased by one percentage point, while support for the Greens declined by the same margin.
The home stretch of the campaign in Germany
Despite minor shifts, support for the main German parties in the final phase of the campaign before the Bundestag elections remains stable.
The CDU/CSU Christian Democratic bloc remains in the lead, with 30 percent of respondents planning to vote for them. The right-wing populist AfD is in second place (20 percent), ahead of the Social Democratic SPD (16 percent) and the Greens (13 percent).
The Left Party would also enter the Bundestag (7 percent) along with the liberals from the Free Democratic Party (FDP; 5 percent). The left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is hovering around the electoral threshold at 4 percent.
The campaign before the Bundestag elections, which is scheduled for Sunday, has entered a decisive phase. The most important topic for some time has been migration policy.
Discussions became particularly heated after the attack in Munich, where on Thursday, a 24-year-old Afghan drove a car into a demonstration. A two-year-old girl and her 37-year-old mother lost their lives due to severe injuries. Investigators currently assume the crime had an Islamist motive.
A clash between Scholz and Merz during the Bundestag session
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the SPD and opposition CDU leader Friedrich Merz fiercely attacked each other during the last Bundestag session before the elections. The candidates for chancellor from the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats debated over migration, economic policy, and how to approach the AfD.
Scholz accused Merz of threatening European integration with his migration plans.
- Friedrich Merz intends to bury Europe - said the chancellor. In his view, Merz also undermines the "proud legacy" of former CDU chancellors: Konrad Adenauer, Helmut Kohl, and Angela Merkel.
According to Merz, the government is leaving a "sheer disaster" on the labour market - nearly 3 million unemployed, almost 400,000 more than at the beginning of Scholz's term. Furthermore, there have been 50,000 company insolvencies in this period and a capital outflow of approximately 88 billion pounds a year. - Apparently, you no longer see the reality - shouted Merz towards Scholz, according to dpa reports.
