The Germans 'love' Merkel

At the highest level in three years launched the popularity of the German Chancellor, according to a poll published today, which confirms the high support of the German public in the policy pursued by Merkel to address the debt crisis in the eurozone. According to the poll by Infratest-ARD, conducted after the EU summit last week, 66% of Germans are happy with the policy pursued by the German Chancellor, increased by eight percentage points compared with the previous month and the highest percentage of re-election in 2009. The closest rival is Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the leader of the Social Democrats (SPD), with 61% popularity rate comparable to that received by the Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. In 58% of Germans believe that Merkel's stance on the crisis in the eurozone is correct and decisive, though 85% of respondents expect that the crisis will worsen. More than two thirds of respondents were in favor of a referendum before Germany agreed to hand over more powers to European institutions. Moreover in the current poll, the party of Merkel, the Christian Democrats (CDU), remains the most popular in Germany with 35% versus 30% for the SPD. Nevertheless, the allies of the SPD, the Greens, are stable at 14%, while the Free Democrats (FDP), Merkel's allies have fallen slightly below 4% - to enter the federal parliament, must accumulate at least 5% of the votes.