Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has fallen to its lowest level in nearly four years, a poll showed on Tuesday, adding to her troubles a day after the federal president's shock resignation.
A Forsa poll showed Merkel's conservative camp down two points from a week ago on 30 percent — its lowest level since the late summer of 2006.
Merkel's pro-business Free Democrat (FDP) coalition partners were unchanged on 7 percent, still languishing at about half the level they achieved in September's federal election.
The opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens were unchanged on 26 percent and 16 percent respectively. The main winner was the socialist Left Party, up 1 point at 13 percent.
Merkel is battling to claw back her ratings and reputation as a steady hand after critics at home and abroad have attacked her for being hesitant in handling the euro zone debt crisis.
Damaging policy spats with the FDP have also plagued Merkel and voters punished her in an election last month in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state when her party saw its support slump by 10 percentage points.
Forsa chief Manfred Guellner said the state election losses, a perception among voters that Merkel was showing weak leadership and worries about forthcoming savings measures were among the main reasons for the conservatives' decline.
The poll was conducted between May 25 and 28, before Monday's surprise resignation of Merkel ally President Horst Koehler, which he blamed on a storm of criticism over comments he made about German military action abroad.
Replacing Koehler, whom the conservatives had backed for re-election last year, is an unexpected test for Merkel. She must quickly find a new candidate who she can be sure will be voted through by a special assembly on June 30.
A failure to get her choice through would be a big blow to her authority. As yet there is no obvious candidate.
"Angela Merkel will need a lot of strength to ensure the resignation of the head of state does not become a serious crisis of state," wrote the top-selling Bild daily.
German media have viewed Koehler's move as an exaggerated reaction to criticism of his comments about the role of the army in protecting German commercial interests. However, analysts say it leaves an impression of rats abandoning a sinking ship.
Merkel said she had tried to talk him out of resigning and his move came hard on the heals of another surprise announcement last week when Roland Koch, a high-profile Merkel ally in the state of Hesse, announced he would quit politics.
