CDU overtakes SPD in polls shortly before NRW state election

Three days before parliamentary elections in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU party has taken the lead in polls, ahead of the governing SPD, national TV station ZDF reports. The CDU now polls at 32 percent; the SPD at 31 percent. The current SPD-Green coalition will not be able to continue if the election result matches the poll. The Greens have fallen to 6.5 percent, having taken 11.3 percent at the last election in 2012. The Free Democrats (FDP) have seen a resurgence compared to their 8.6 percent result in 2012, and are now polling at 13.5 percent, meaning the economic liberals could become the third party in the state. The election takes place on May 14 and is seen as a key predictor for the federal elections in September.

See the article in German here.

See the CLEW article Coal exit: elephant in the room at vote in German industry heartland for background.