If Angela Merkel becomes German Chancellor again, nearly half of voters would want her to quit her term early, according to a poll offering a rare sign that domestic support for Europe’s most influential leader may be waning.
Ms. Merkel’s conservatives won a national election in September, setting her up for a fourth stint in office. But they bled support to the far Right, and talks on a three-way coalition with the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats collapsed in November.
The YouGov survey, commissioned by Germany’s DPA agency and published in Wednesday’s Die Welt newspaper, showed that 47% of respondents wanted Ms. Merkel to step aside before 2021, when her fourth term would end — up from 36% in a poll taken at the beginning of October. By contrast, 36% want her to serve a full four years, compared to 44% three months ago.
Ms. Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) have said they will start exploratory coalition talks on January 7.