Left-leaning bloc gains ground ahead of eastern German state election

The chances of a left-wing coalition in the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are growing despite gains for the far right, according to a poll published on Thursday - just over a month before the vote.

The Social Democrats (SPD), The Left party and the Greens would together reach 45% of the vote if an election were held next Sunday, the poll conducted by INSA for the Nordkurier newspaper showed.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) would together hold 46% of the vote, but the CDU has ruled out a coalition with the AfD.

The state parliament election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is scheduled for September 20.

If the election were held next Sunday, 29% of voters would back the SPD, according to the poll, one percentage point more than in the last INSA survey at the end of June.

The Left party would remain unchanged with 11% of the vote, while the Greens would gain one point to reach 5%.

However, the AfD has also continued to gain in voter support, with 36% of respondents saying they would vote for the party, one percentage point more than in June.

In the 2021 state election, the anti-immigrant party scored 19.3 percentage points less, receiving 16.7% of the vote.

The CDU remained at 10% in the poll, unchanged from June. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance lost two points compared to June and now stands at 4%. The Free Democratic Party is at 3%, down 2.8 percentage points from 2021.

The data are based on an online survey of 1,000 people conducted between August 4 and 11. INSA put the margin of error at plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.