Merkel's German Coalition Plan Faces an Increasingly Wary Public
- Poll suggests growing share views ‘grand coalition’ as bad
- Chancellor anxious to end stalemate in EU’s biggest economy
This article is for subscribers only.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plan to extend her governing alliance with the Social Democrats faces increasing public skepticism as she prepares to begin talks with the rival party, according to a poll.
While 53 percent favored Merkel serving another term, only 45 percent backed another “grand coalition” between her Christian Democrat-led bloc and the SPD in the poll published Thursday by broadcaster ARD. Those viewing such a pact as outright “bad” increased by 2 percentage points compared with early December.