BERLIN, Sept. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder' s Social Democratic Party (SPD) is closing its gap with the opposition Christian Democratic alliance (CDU/CSU), two weeks before the general election on Sept.18, a poll showed Friday.

    The SPD gained 32 percent of support from 30 percent last week while the CDU/CSU led by chancellor candidate Angela Merkel remained at 43 percent, according to the survey for the German public channel ZDF.

    Both the Free Democratic Party (FDP), the opposition's junior partner, and the Greens, the SPD's ruling coalition, lost 1 percentage point to seven percent respectively, the ZDF reported.

    Therefore, the CDU/CSU and the FDP with a combined 50 percent support could still win the election, ending Schroeder's 7-year red-green coalition.

    The new Left party's support was unchanged at 8 percent. Enditem