Polling by Forsa shows the voting intention of the German population has scarcely shifted since the September 2017 general election.
Another election would again make the CDU and its sister party the CSU the largest group in the Bundestag, with 34 percent of voters revealing they would vote for Angela Merkel’s ‘Union’ alliance.
There are some slight changes in parties’ popularity across the board, according to the January 22 survey of 1,282 Germans.
And the popularity of the left-wing SPD has dropped from 20.5 to 17 percent support since the election.
The right-wing liberal FDP has dropped from 10.7 to 8 percent. Support for the Greens is up from 8.9 to 12 percent.
Amid fears left-wing entryists to the SPD could vote down a grand coalition deal between their party and Mrs Merkel’s CDU, further elections in Germany could be a possibility.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would prefer to run the vote again, rather than rule in a minority government, in the interests of stability.
However the polls suggest another vote could recreate the same conditions of instability, only extending Germany’s political stalemate.
Mrs Merkel has agreed a provisional deal with her SPD colleagues, including former European Parliament leader Martin Schulz, but there is a chance that formal talks could end in disaster for the Chancellor.
A huge spike in membership applications to the SPD has led to fears many are joining the party with the specific goal of scuppering the grand coalition.
The SPD’s youth wing, Jusos, has encouraged new members to sign up to the party with the slogan “stop the grand coalition for a tenner” – referring to the cost of two months’ party membership.
It believes the party-wide vote on the deal is an opportunity to change the direction of the SPD, and deny Angela Merkel a fourth term as Chancellor.
Last year the SPD vowed to go into opposition if it did not become the largest party in the Bundestag.
Backing away from this decision has angered many members, who believe the SPD’s perceived closeness with the conservative CDU brought about its historic defeat in last year’s vote.
A narrow margin of SPD members voted in favour of formal coalition talks, meaning Jusos’ campaign has a greater chance of having a significant impact.