Scholz Gains Ground on Conservative Challenger Merz in New Poll

Social Democrat narrows gap to CDU leader in survey for ZDF
German voters head to the polls on Feb. 23 for snap election

Olaf Scholz
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

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By Iain Rogers

December 6, 2024 at 9:30 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz gained further ground on conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz in a new opinion poll, drawing close to his main challenger ahead of February’s snap election.

Asked to choose between the Social Democrat incumbent and Merz, who heads the CDU/CSU alliance, 43% of voters picked Scholz, up from 37% in October, according to the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen survey for public broadcaster ZDF published Friday. Merz scored 45%, down from 48% in October.