German SPD ahead of conservatives a month before election, poll shows

FILE PHOTO: A car passes near an election poster showing Olaf Scholz, German Minister of Finance and top candidate of the The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who holds a letter for postal voting in Hanover, Germany August 17, 2021. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer

BERLIN (Reuters) -Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have pulled ahead of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives for the first time in 15 years, according to an opinion poll published on Tuesday, just a month before the country's federal election.

Germany goes to the polls on Sept. 26, when Merkel steps down as chancellor after 16 years in office and four straight national election victories. Merkel's imminent departure has heightened divisions over the direction of the party.