German Socialists Catch Up to Merkel’s Conservatives in Race for German Cabinet

Sputnik — A weekly Emnid survey, conducted for the German newspaper Bild between March 2 and 8 among 1,882 registered voters revealed that both SPD and the CDU/CSU bloc now enjoy the support of 33 percent both.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came in third with eight percent of votes.

The Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats, who formed a grand coalition government over three years ago, have been running neck-and-neck in polls since February.

The SPD briefly pulled ahead by one percent early last month, a historic success that was attributed to the popularity of its new leader, Martin Schulz, as a new face on the German political arena.

The parliamentary elections in Germany will take place on September 24, 2017.