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Martin Schulz, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), has said that “everything is still possible" ahead of the election on Sunday despite the fact the SPD is trailing so far behind in the polls. "The experience of all elections, national or international, show that the number of undecided people is growing more and more," Mr Schulz told broadcaster RTL. In the northern German city of Bremen last month, he told a rally: “It’s being written and projected that the election is already done. “But I tell you: polls are not results. You have the choice between a chancellor who avoids every debate about the future and somebody who tells you what he wants.” Mrs Merkel's conservative bloc - her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) - are still leading in the polls. The latest ‘Deutschland Trend’ poll by ARD shows that the Christian Democrats have 37 per cent support, putting them 17 points ahead of the SPD.

The anti-migrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) have had a recent boost to 12 per cent. But it is still down on their high of 15 per cent in the first month of the year. The far-right AfD had hoped to make gains in the wake of the migrant crisis, the Brexit vote and Donald Trump's surprise victory last year. But the wave of anti-EU populism seemed to ebb after Marine Le Pen lost the French election and Geert Wilders was defeated in the Dutch election. Although the migrant crisis has mainly faded, the anti-immigration AfD have seen a boost in the last weeks of the election campaign. The SPD was initially boosted by the candidacy of former Eurocrat Mr Schulz but he has failed to win over enough of the German people. Mr Schulz shook up the German election race after resigning from the European Parliament to take on Angela Merkel at the start of the year. The SPD are at 20 per cent support, up from 20 per cent in January 2017 when Mr Schulz revealed he was standing for the party. His campaign has since floundered. WHO WILL WIN THE GERMAN ELECTION?

ARD-DeutschlandTrend German election 2017: This is the latest Deutschland Trend poll by ARD

When is the German election 2017? There are just days to go until the Germany holds its federal election on Sunday September 24. The polls close at 6pm local time (5pm BST) on Sunday. What will happen in the German election? Piotr Buras, head of the Warsaw office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, predicted that the CDU will become the strongest party and that Mrs Merkel will remain the Chancellor of Germany after the election. “Despite the criticism of Merkel and her sinking support, a majority of voters support the idea of her remaining Chancellor,” he said last September at the height of the migrant crisis.

Getty German election 2017: AfD supporters protest against Angela Merkel's migration policy

US President Donald Trump has said that Angela Merkel's one “very catastrophic mistake” was “taking all of these illegals” during the migrant crisis. Mrs Merkel decision to open the doors to refugees, sparked protests across much of Germany. "If I could, I would turn back the time by many, many years, to prepare better,” she later admitted. The Christian Democrats' coalition partner, the Social Democrats, have struggled to turn the outrage over migration to its advantage. “The SPD support Merkel’s line even more strongly than her own party,” Mr Buras said, noting that the party has suffered from being in coalition for so long.

German election: Photos from the election Mon, September 25, 2017 Latest pictures during the upcoming general elections in Germany Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 22 Demonstrators scuffle with police during the protest against the anti-immigration party Alternative for Deutschland AfD, after German general election (Bundestagswahl) in Berlin