Merz's conservatives narrowly ahead in western state election poll

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) have a razor-thin lead in Rhineland-Palatinate, a poll showed on Thursday, just 10 days before the south-western state heads to the polls.

The survey by poll institute Infratest dimap released on Thursday found the CDU on 29%, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) - who lead the incumbent state government under Premier Alexander Schweitzer - just behind on 28% ahead of the vote on March 22.

The two parties are in coalition at the national level in Berlin but are set for a critical head-to-head battle in Rhineland-Palatinate after underperforming in neighbouring Baden-Württemberg on Sunday in the first of five state elections across Germany in 2026.

After being pipped by an improbable Green comeback in Baden-Württemberg, the CDU is increasingly desperate to land a victory in the next election to bolster Merz's national government.

The party faces a massive challenge to hold onto power in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt in September, where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could even secure an absolute majority, allowing it to enter a government for the first time.

The CDU is also facing a battle to hold on to power in the capital Berlin, which votes later in September along with SPD-led Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Meanwhile, the SPD is hoping to bounce back after suffering a historic collapse in support in Baden-Württemberg.

The party narrowly avoided the embarrassment of dropping out of the state parliament by securing 5.5% of the vote, just above the 5% threshold.