Updated

Angela Merkel's main challenger in the country's upcoming general election says he remains confident he can unseat the chancellor despite her wide lead in the polls.

Martin Schulz, who was president of the European Parliament until January, said on Germany's ZDF television Sunday there are still six weeks of campaigning to go before the Sept. 24 vote.

He says "I think that I still have a good chance to lead the next government."

The latest poll, by the Emnid agency for Bild newspaper on Sunday, shows Schulz's Social Democrats gaining a percentage point to 24 percent support, compared to a steady 38 percent support for Merkel's conservative bloc. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.5 percent.

The Social Democrats are currently Merkel's junior coalition partner.