Poll: Merkel's challenger Schulz boosts German center-left
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A new poll indicates that Germany's center-left Social Democrats have gotten a boost by nominating former European Parliament President Martin Schulz to challenge Chancellor Angela Merkel in the country's September election.
It was the third survey in recent days to reach a similar conclusion.
Wednesday's Forsa poll for Stern magazine and RTL television put the Social Democrats' support at 26 percent, up five points from a week earlier. Still, they remained well behind Merkel's conservative Union bloc, which slipped two points to 35 percent.
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Schulz became Merkel's challenger when Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel unexpectedly said he wouldn't run. Schulz has a reputation for plain speaking but is untested in national politics.
The poll of 2,502 people, conducted Jan. 23-27, gave a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 points.