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M. Continuo

Merkel's coalition gets poll boost from Ukraine crisis mediation


    BERLIN (Reuters) - Support for German Chancellor Angela Merkel's right-left coalition has risen thanks to her prominent role in efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the stand-off with Russia over Ukraine, according to a new poll released on Wednesday.

    Merkel's conservatives were up 2 points at 42 percent in the Forsa poll for Stern magazine and broadcaster RTL and her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners rose 1 point to 23 percent.

    "The chancellor, who is in constant contact with U.S. President (Barack) Obama and Russian President (Vladimir) Putin, continues to be perceived as a crisis manager," said Forsa chief Manfred Guellner.

    Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, from the SPD which formed a coalition with Merkel late last year, has also played a high-profile role in diplomatic attempts to resolve the conflict over Russia's occupation of the Ukrainian region of Crimea.

    Steinmeier's personal approval rating has risen in opinion polls - higher even than the chancellor's in some surveys - but the SPD has not benefited as much as the conservatives.

    The opposition Left and Greens both fell a point in the Forsa poll, to 10 and nine percent respectively.

    (Reporting by Stephen Brown; Editing by Madeline Chambers)