The Social Democrat coalition gained support after the alliance agreed a package of measures to protect the climate. Support for Merkel’s conservative bloc, her Christin Democratic Union (CDU) and their Bavarian allies, the Christian Social Union (CSU) fell by two percentage points to 27 per cent. The results came from a survey by pollster Emnid for newspaper Bild am Sonntag.
Emnid surveyed 1,719 voters from September 19 to September 25.
The SPD climate package includes a new domestic carbon pricing scheme, bigger incentives for buying electric cars, higher road tolls for trucks from 2023 and surcharges on domestic flights.
Interim SPD leader Malu Dreyer said he would fight over the details of the climate package which need to be made into law.
He said: “We believe this package is still a good package, that it is a good compromise.
“Now, we will come to the implementation and we will be able to argue with those who perhaps see some things differently.”
According to the survey, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) gained one percentage point to 15 per cent.
Party leader of the AfD Alexander Garland said: “Criticism of the so-called climate protection policy is, after the euro and immigration, the third big issue for the AfD.”
This comes as the head of Germany’s ruling Christian Democrats Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has dismissed claims she was thrown off the chancellor’s plane to the US due to a row.
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The news comes amid troubled times for Mrs Merkel, who has suffered visible health issues when she was caught on video shaking three times in the past six weeks.
Concerns about the 64-year-old’s health were raised again when she began trembling as she stood for national anthems with Finland’s prime minister in Berlin.
She was forced to break with protocol and sit during yesterday’s welcoming ceremony for the Danish prime minister.