Angela Merkel insists opposition tax plans would 'throw a spanner in the works' Leaders of her Christian Democrat party warned of an opposition coalition bringing together the main left-wing party, the Social Democrats, with the Greens and Die Linke, a far left party with roots in East German Communism. Peer Steinbrück, the Social Democrats' candidate to lead Germany, achieved a personal approval rating of 35pc, his best ever, in an Emnid poll published yesterday by Bild am Sonntag. Mrs Merkel remains in the lead with 50 per cent favouring her as the next chancellor. Mr Steinbrück's party rose to 25 per cent in the poll while their allies the Greens are on 11 per cent. The Greens' poll numbers have been sliding since the Veggie Day row, when the tabloid Bild seized on an overlooked item in their manifesto - a proposal for a weekly vegetarian day in public canteens - under the headline: "The Greens want to ban us from eating meat." The Christian Democrats and their sister party the Christian Social Union were on 40 per cent in the poll, while their current coalition allies the Free Democrats are on 5 per cent. The Euro-sceptic Alternative für Deutschland were on 3 per cent.