German chancellor Angela Merkel has said while same-sex couples should get marital benefits, a civil partnership should not be called marriage.

Merkel said she didn’t oppose gay marriage, but would want it to be called something else.

The head of state answered questions from the online community in an interview with German Youtube star Florian Mundt, alias LeFloid, as part of the ‘Gut Leben’ (good living) campaign.

‘I’m someone who is very supportive of us eliminating all discrimination,’ Merkel said when asked for her personal stance on marriage equality.

‘We have come a long way; when I remember, 25 years ago, many people didn’t dare to say that they are gay or lesbian. Luckily we overcame this; you can enter a partnership, a civil partnership.’

In June, members of Merkel’s Christian Democratic party sent an open letter claiming marriage equality would see the institution of marriage lost.

‘For me, personally, marriage is a man and a woman living together. That is my concept, but I support civil partnerships,’ she continued.

‘I support us not discriminating against them when it comes to taxes, and to remove any other discrimination wherever we may find it.’

Mundt accused Merkel of quibbling and wanting to keep marriage between same-sex and traditional couples separate, although it would be the same on paper.

‘For me, there is still a difference. It’s not the same, but they [same-sex couples] want the same. Everything else is an exclusion for me,’ he said.

The chancellor claimed people had to accept different opinions on the matter – including herself, as the opinions in her party as well as in the German government differ, but ‘you’ll have to endure that for a while.’

‘I don’t want discrimination and [I want] equality, but I make a difference at some point,’ Merkel explained.

Her interviewer countered quickly: ‘So you could say: no to discrimination, but we’ll keep differentiating between the two.’

‘No discrimination,’ Merkel answered.

‘Marriage as a man and a woman living together.’