Berlin - Voter support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and her centre-left Social Democrat (SPD) rivals has dropped, according to an opinion poll released Wednesday, just over two weeks before Germany votes in a general election. The survey by the research group Forsa showed Merkel's conservatives slipping 1 per cent to 35 per cent, roughly the same as what they polled in the last election in 2005.
The Social Democrats, led by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, were 1 per cent down at 20 per cent, well below its showing of 34 per cent in 2005.
The CDU and SPD have governed in a grand coalition for the past four years, but Merkel wants to end the alliance and team up with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).
The Free Democrats were unchanged at 14 per cent, according to the survey, conducted for RTL television and the news magazine Der Spiegel.
Together, the CDU and FDP would poll 49 per cent in the September 27 election, according to the survey, leaving them narrowly short of a majority to form a new government.
The big winner in the survey was the hardline Left Party, which saw its popularity jump 4 per cent to 14 per cent - its highest rating this year.
A strong opponent of Germany's military involvement in Afghanistan, the party scored well in state elections at the end of August, polling more than 20 per cent in Thuringia, Saxony and Saarland.
Analysts said the controversy over the German-ordered airstrike which claimed numerous lives in Afghanistan last week also helped the party, born out of the ashes of East Germany's ruling communists.
The Greens, who along with the Left and SPD are seen as representing a leftist bloc, saw their popularity decline 2 per cent to 10 per cent. Together the three parties have 45 per cent.
Fifty-three per cent of those questioned said they would vote directly for Merkel as chancellor, while only 20 per cent said they would do the same for Steinmeier.
A total of 2,504 people were canvassed for the survey, which has a margin of error of 2.5 per cent.
