Merkel under attack from own party

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government came under attack yesterday from leaders in her own party as the conservatives fell to a record low in opinion polls amid public anger over rising taxes and stymied reform efforts.

The head of the leading opposition party, Free Democrat chairman Guido Westerwelle, predicted Ms Merkel's nine-month old grand coalition would collapse well before the next election set for 2009 because of bad blood between the two ruling parties.

"The polling numbers clearly show the CDU has alienated its own voters," Joerg Schoenbohm, CDU chairman and interior minister in Brandenburg state, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"The voters don't like what they're seeing. We're losing our most loyal supporters. They're terribly disappointed about the path we're on. They say this isn't the party they voted for."

His fears were echoed by the CDU state leader in Rhineland-Palatinate Christian Baldauf, who said voters were not satisfied with the grand coalition and especially annoyed about its plans to raise taxes and increase fees for health insurance.

"These are massive burdens to people and yet they see no signs of any master plan in Berlin," Mr Baldauf said.

The CDU and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, have fallen to 31 per cent in a weekend ARD TV poll, the lowest support since taking office in November and their weakest standing since 28 per cent in the the depths of ex Chancellor Helmut Kohl's campaign donations scandal in 2000.

The conservatives have now fallen 10 points since February.

Ms Merkel, who has won praise for her foreign policy, faced widespread criticism over backtracking on promises to lower wage costs in order to promote job creation. Her reform of the health care system has also come under withering attack.