Scholz’s Coalition Under Pressure as FDP Lags Far-Left Group

(Bloomberg) -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition remains under pressure as a voter poll shows the co-ruling Free Democratic Party below a new far-left group and at risk of dropping out of parliament.

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The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, known as BSW, received support from 7% of voters surveyed by INSA for Bild am Sonntag. The party, which held its first convention on Saturday, is planning to challenge in the upcoming European elections.

The pro-business FDP — run by Finance Minister Christian Lindner — fell to 4%, taking it below the hurdle needed to keep a place in parliament for the first time in INSA’s poll since 2015.

Germany’s political landscape is in turmoil amid widespread frustration with Scholz’s coalition. The sputtering economy is adding to the tension and providing an opening for new parties to win support.

In a sign of the concern, a group of more than 50 companies — including Deutsche Telekom AG, Puma SE and Thyssenkrupp AG — issued a joint appeal on mainstream parties to fight the far-right.

“Right-wing extremist forces threaten Germany’s democracy and its economic performance,” the Stiftung KlimaWirtschaft said in a statement.

The far-right AfD, which was the target of mass protests across Germany for the third weekend in a row, slipped one percentage point to 21%. It retained its No. 2 position behind the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, which gained one percentage point to 31%.

Scholz’s Social Democrats also gained one percentage point to 14%, while the co-ruling Greens were steady at 13%. Combined, the three ruling parties have support from just 31% of voters.

Just 21% would vote for Scholz directly if they could, while 28% would prefer CDU chief Friedrich Merz, according to the INSA poll.

(Updates with company appeal beginning in fifth paragraph)

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