if elections were held now, 39% of germans would vote cdu/csu, a four-year high. the spd is only a slightly. the conservative coalition partner with not clear the 5% hurdle. head to head, the chancellor has a clear lead over her opponent. 49% say they will vote for merkel. bejeweled between merkel and performance finance minister -- the duel between merkel and her former finance minister has only just begun. polls show germans do want a change in government. so-called grand coalition between conservatives and social democrats or the social democrats and greens are two possible outcomes. >> let's talk about this. angela merkel is still clearly germany's most popular politician. peer steinbruck will be spending the next year trying to find her achilles heel. will he find one? >> the glowing ratings angela merkel has been getting have to do with the fact that germany has gotten through the year of crisis and financial crisis pretty well and has had some very good years. it looks like those times are coming to an end. germany appears to be heading toward a downturn, a