The conservative Christian Democrats have not suffered major damage in the polls despite having accepted support from the far right. But fewer people now trust Chancellor hopeful Friedrich Merz not to veer to the right.

Support for Germany's conservative CDU/CSU alliance has dropped to 28% ahead of elections on February 23, a poll showed on Tuesday, days after it cooperated with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to pass a motion in parliament.

Less than three weeks before federal elections, the Forsa poll for RTL/ntv also showed support for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) holding steady at 16%. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was unchanged at 20%.

Germany's conservative chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz explicitly distanced himself and his party from the far-right AfD, after sparking outrage over his cooperation with the AfD last week.