Angela Merkel’s chief rival in Germany’s upcoming national elections has come out swinging against dismal polling numbers for his centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), soldiering on in his bid to claw voter support away from Merkel’s conservatives in the run-up to September 24.
SPD leader Martin Schulz told supporters in the city of Freiburg yesterday that he would not be disheartened by the party’s performance in the polls, one of which showed support for the SPD hitting an eight-month low of 20%.
The same ARD-Deutschlandtrend poll showed Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) at 37%.
“I’m not fighting against pollsters and surveys,” Schulz said. “I’m fighting for what I believe in. I’m fighting for my principles – for our principles.”
The SPD, Germany’s second-largest party, could still gain ground in the final days of the campaign, Schulz added.
Merkel also hit the campaign trail yesterday, warning that an SPD-led, leftist coalition without the CDU was an experiment that Germany could not afford.
In order to remove the CDU from government, the SPD would need the support of far-left Die Linke party and the environmentalist Greens, an alliance with no precedent at the national level.
“We live in uncertain times,” Merkel said during a rally in the seaside resort of Binz. “We should not allow ourselves to enter into experiments at this time.”
With nine days to go before the election that she is projected to win, Merkel criticised the SPD for failing to adopt a clear stance on the three-way coalition.
“We have not had an answer to that question – would they be prepared to enter into a red-red-green coalition or not?” she said, referring to the left-wing parties’ official colours.
Merkel’s appearance in Binz was met with a few isolated whistles of disapproval.
The CDU addressed 5,000 spectators at the rally, with the speakers’ comments also relayed to an audience in a neighbouring square via a video link.
The latest polls show Merkel’s CDU on 36% of the vote.
The SPD is in second place with 23%.