By IRNA
Berlin : Germany’s co-governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) dropped to a historic low in approval ratings in the wake of the controversy over a rapprochement with the radical leftist the Left (Linke) party.
According to an opinion poll, released jointly Monday by the weekly stern news magazine and the private RTL television network, the SPD fell to 23 percent, down a percentage point from the previous week.
The Christian Democratic Union of Chancellor Angela Merkel still heads the poll with 38 percent.
Meanwhile, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) and the Left remained unchanged at 10 and 14 percent respectively.
The Greens inched up one point to reach 11 percent.
In other related news, the image of SPD leader Kurt Beck has been greatly damaged as a result of the turbulence over a likely regional alliance with the Left party.
Only 13 percent of Germans would vote for him if he were to be elected directly, while 57 percent would cast their ballots for Merkel.
This is the lowest level for Beck since becoming SPD chairman in May 2006.
Around 2501 people were polled for the five-day survey (March 3-7).