Poll shows slide in support for Germany's Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity has dropped significantly as she nears the end of her first year in office, according to a poll published today that found her ratings slipping behind those of her potential opponent at the next election.

The conservative Merkel took office last November at the head of an awkward "grand coalition" with predecessor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats. Her pragmatic, consensual governing style initially brought her stellar poll ratings, but those have slipped amid disillusionment fed by persistent coalition bickering.

A poll by the TNS Infratest institute for the weekly Der Spiegel found that 55% of respondents wanted Merkel to play "an important role" in future - a key measure of popularity.

That compared with 70% approval for the chancellor in a similar survey in late July. At the peak of the government's honeymoon in January, Merkel headed the list with 85% support.

The latest poll of some 1,000 people, conducted on October 24 and 25, put Merkel in fourth place. The most popular politician was Horst Koehler, Germany's largely ceremonial president, with 76% backing; he was followed by Social Democrat chairman Kurt Beck, with 60%.

Beck appears Merkel's likely challenger in the next parliamentary election, probably in 2009.

Asked whom they would elect if they could vote directly for the chancellor, 43% chose Beck and only 37 percent plumped for Merkel, TNS Infratest said. A further 14% said they would vote for neither leader.

The poll gave a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

In a weekend magazine interview, Merkel shrugged aside poor ratings for her party and dismissed recent suggestions by Schroeder that she is failing to provide strong leadership.

"If I want to do the right thing, I cannot look at polls every day," Merkel told the weekly Focus.