Christian Democrats (CDU)

Germany's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) remained steady at 32 percent support over the past week, one percentage point behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), according to a poll published on March 15.

Germany's Social Democrats unexpectedly named former European Parliament chief Martin Schulz as their candidate for the chancellorship on Jan. 24, raising the stakes in a September election that promises to be Chancellor Angela Merkel's toughest yet.

More than half of Germans see refugees and integration as Germany's biggest problem, a survey showed, despite the number of newcomers falling significantly on the year. 

A record 890,000 mainly Muslim migrants from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere arrived in Europe's largest economy in 2015, prompting concerns about security and integration. 

More than half of Germans want Chancellor Angela Merkel to run for a fourth term as the conservative candidate in the 2017 federal election, a poll showed on Nov. 9, despite a dip in her popularity due to her liberal migrant policy. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) were beaten into third place by the anti-immigrant and anti-Islam Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in a north-eastern state election on Sept. 4.

Germany only has capacity for a maximum 200,000 asylum seekers a year, about a fifth of the number it received in 2015, Bavarian premier Horst Seehofer said on Jan. 3.

German chancellor Angela Merkel speaking to supporters of her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in Darmstadt on Monday she defended the deal on transit zone and said that if Germany closed its border it could result in military conflicts adding that Social Democrats (SPD) need to support the transit zones.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's open-door policy towards refugees and embrace of Turkey drew criticism on Oct. 19 from conservative allies, with one senior Bavarian politician warning against any consideration of European Union membership for Ankara. 

Greece will get a new debt repayment extension, according to two executives of the party of Angela Merkel, Christian Democrats (CDU).

Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has slipped by two percentage points due to divisions within her parliamentary bloc over a third bailout for Greece and even her own popularity has taken a hit, a poll showed on Aug. 26.