Merkel8217;s popularity slides after nuclear U-turn

In previous surveys,Merkel had ranked second behind Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg,the conservative defence minister who resigned a month ago in a plagiarism scandal.

A long-time advocate of nuclear power who campaigned on a promise to extend the lifespan of German plants,Merkel abruptly changed course after the earthquake and tsunami in Japan damaged a nuclear facility there.

Earlier this month,she ordered the temporary closure of seven of the oldest nuclear plants in Germany and vowed to accelerate a shift to renewable energy sources.

The move,shortly before state elections,angered members of her own party and led opposition parties to accuse her of compromising her long-held views in a drive to win votes.

The shift appeared to weigh on her Christian Democrats CDU in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg,where the party lost power to a coalition of Greens and Social Democrats in an election on Sunday after ruling the prosperous region for nearly six decades.

The poll of 1,002 Germans was conducted on March 24-25.

A separate survey showed support for the Greens,an anti-nuclear party whose popularity has soared following the Japan disaster,rising to 21 per cent in national polls. Merkel8217;s CDU was steady at 33 per cent,with the SPD at 25 per cent.