News / Germany

Half of Germans oppose Chancellor Merkel’s re-election: Poll

Sunday, 29 November 2015 6:28 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 29 November 2015 6:29 AM ]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech during a reception of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) in Berlin, November 3, 2015. ©AP

Nearly half of Germans are opposed to the re-election of Chancellor Angela Merkel for the fourth term in 2017, a new poll shows.

According to the survey, carried out on 579 German nationals and published on Sunday by German newspaper Bild am Sonntag, 48 percent of the respondents said they did not want to see Merkel run again in the 2017 elections.

Forty-four percent of the participants, however, agreed with her candidacy for the post.

The poll also indicated that 55 percent of the people in Germany’s eastern regions and 46 percent of the female respondents supported the incumbent chancellor.

Merkel’s open-door policy on refugees enjoyed the support of 40 percent of the respondents, whereas 47 percent expressed dissatisfaction with the approach.

The chancellor’s refugee policy has reportedly caused increasing tensions in Germany, prompting a backlash from her conservative allies and generating a growing number of protests by far-right groups.

Germany, Europe’s top destination for refugees, is expecting to receive between 800,000 and one million asylum seekers this year. Most of the refugees are fleeing conflict-hit zones in the Middle East and Africa.

Merkel, 61, has governed Germany since 2005 and has reportedly decided to run for another term.

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