Majority of Germans in favor of new elections: poll

BERLIN, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- A majority of the German electorate is in favor of holding another election as support for Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to drop, showed a poll released Thursday evening.

According to the survey conducted by German public broadcaster ARD, 51 percent support holding another round of elections, while 53 percent are in favor of Merkel for another tenure as German chancellor, a steady decline from slightly over 60 percent support in October last year.

Merkel's Christian Democrats were victorious in last September's federal elections.

Only 42 percent prefer a re-launch of another "Grand Coalition" -- a government formed by the two largest parties, the Christian Democrats and Martin Schulz's Social Democrats.

Initial coalition talks between the two parties are expected to take place from Jan. 7 to Jan. 11.

Merkel had already sought a different coalition agreement with the Liberals and the Green Party but had failed to reconcile on some areas such as immigration.

Against the backdrop of dwindling support of the "Grand Coalition" by German voters, the negotiations will not be easy, with only 45 percent of participants supporting the continuation of such a coalition, a big drop in contrast to 61 percent in December last year.

The survey also showed that 75 percent of the electorate favors a "renewal in the Christian Democrats' personnel," while 33 percent claim that they would still vote for the Christian Democrats.

Asylum and immigration, the electorate's major concerns during last fall's elections, continues to be of vital importance as 27 percent of the surveyed believe that the issue should be the next government's top priority. Enditem