Social justice, climate protection top issues for German voters

BERLIN

Social justice, climate protection, and refugee situation are the top issues for German voters ahead of the next week’s national election, according to a poll released on Friday.

Public broadcaster ZDF’s poll found that “social justice” is the top concern for 53% of the surveyed voters, and 43% said “climate protection” is the most decisive issue in how they are going to vote.

The refugee problem was seen as the most important matter by 25% of the respondents, while nearly 22% said the coronavirus crisis mattered the most in their decision.

German voters will elect a new parliament on Sept. 26, and the result will determine who will succeed Angela Merkel as the chancellor, while she is not running for another term.

According to the ZDF’s representative poll, the Social Democratic Party’s (SPD) candidate Olaf Scholz remains the frontrunner to replace Merkel, as his party is predicted to receive 25% of the vote, three points ahead of the Christian Democrats at 22%.

The poll put support for the environmentalist Greens at 16%, while the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were both polled at 11%.

Nearly 38% of voters were still undecided about which party and candidates they will vote for, according to the survey.