Merkel party at most popular in four years: Poll

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives are at their highest level in the polls in four years, a survey Friday showed, despite her main challenger launching his campaign to replace her next year.

The poll, for public television channel ARD, put Merkel's centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and Bavarian sister party CSU at 39 per cent of the vote, its highest level since March 2008.

The main opposition party, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), would win 31 per cent of the vote in an election, said the poll, a gain of one percentage point since the last poll.

Last Friday, the SPD nominated former finance minister Peer Steinbrueck as its candidate to challenge Merkel in national elections that must be held in September or October next year.

But the poll also suggested he has an uphill task to unseat Merkel.

If Germans could vote directly for their leader, 49 per cent would vote for Merkel and 38 per cent for Steinbrueck.

Merkel remains the country's most popular politician, as Germans approve of her handling of the eurozone debt crisis.

Two-thirds of Germans (67 per cent) say they are satisfied with her work. In second place is Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble with 64 per cent.

Steinbrueck came third in the popularity stakes after 59 per cent of people said they were satisfied with his work -- a gain of nine percentage points compared to the previous month.

The challenger has been beset since his nomination with criticism over money he received for making speeches.

The survey put Merkel's junior coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats, at four per cent of the vote, not enough to win parliamentary seats.

The ecologists Greens polled 11 per cent and the far-left Linke party seven per cent.

The upstart Pirate Party, which campaigns for Internet freedom, continued to see its star wane, registering four percent of the vote after approaching a double-digit level of support earlier in the year.

ARD interviewed 1,501 people for the survey between October 1 and 3.