Poll shows surprise lead for German centre-left SPD party

BERLIN: Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) edged ahead in the race towards September elections on Tuesday, beating Angela Merkel’s conservatives in a poll for the first time since 2006.

The survey of 2,504 people for the NTV broadcaster had the centre-left party in the lead on 23 percent, with Merkel’s CDU-CSU alliance trailing behind on 22 percent. The two parties are currently in a governing coalition led by the conservatives, with Merkel due to step aside after elections on September 26.

The CDU-CSU alliance enjoyed a strong lead in the polls going into the summer, but has been on the back foot amid a series of missteps from Armin Laschet, the conservative candidate to succeed Merkel.

In July, Laschet was pictured laughing in the background with local officials while Germany’s president gave a speech mourning the victims of deadly floods. Since the disaster, the conservatives have been unable to halt a falling trend in popularity.