FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel awaits the arrival of participants ahead of the ‘G20 Compact with Africa’ summit at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
October 31, 2018
BERLIN (Reuters) – A slim majority of Germans would like the Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in Angela Merkel’s coalition, to leave the government, with only the supporters of the chancellor’s own conservatives keen for them to stay, a poll showed.
The survey, conducted by pollster Civey for news portal t-online.de, strengthens the hand of the SPD’s more radical wing, who say that the party has no chance of recovering from a series of catastrophic election results while it remains in government.
The poll of 5,098 people between Oct. 28 and Oct. 30, found some 52 percent of Germans thought the SPD should leave the coalition after Merkel announced she would resign as chairwoman of her Christian Democrats but remain in office as chancellor.
The SPD’s departure would deprive Merkel’s conservative bloc of its parliamentary majority.
(Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Michelle Martin)
