Berlin  - Public support for parties committed to continuing Chancellor Angela Merkel's chancellorship has soared to a new peak for this year, with 52 per cent of Germans backing the parties, a poll showed Wednesday.

The weekly Forsa poll for Stern magazine and RTL television showed Merkel's own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union
(CSU), gaining one percentage point to 37 per cent.

A smaller opposition party, the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP), which seeks an alliance with the CDU, was steady with support of 15 per cent.

Merkel's current coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), remained stuck at a dismal 21 per cent, suggesting it was bound for the opposition. Green support rose to 13 and Left support fell to 9 per cent.

Germany goes to the polls on September 27.(dpa)