Berlin ( CNN ) -- Chancellor Angela Merkel 's popularity will not be enough to ensure a continuation of the government she would like to lead after Germans go to the polls - and a newcomer on the political scene could throw a wrench in the gears of her plans for the nation . Despite standing 20 points higher in the ratings than challenger Peer Steinbrueck of the SPD , Merkel 's conservative Christian Democrats ( CDU ) are unlikely to secure enough votes for an absolute majority . It is actually the Chancellor 's own camp in the political spectrum of the right that threatens the current government , made up of the Christian Democrats and their junior partner , the liberal democratic FDP . The upstart Alternative for Germany ( AfD ) party could deliver payback to Europe 's paymaster , because of Chancellor Merkel 's ad hoc reactions to financial instability in the Eurozone . With a populist platform cloaked in its profile as the `` party of professors , '' the nascent AfD touts an anti-euro platform , and is channelling supporters away from the right and enticing protest voters . Together , they could be enough to help the AfD garner the five per cent of the vote they need to gain seats in Germany 's parliament , the Bundestag . The party currently scores between 2 % and 4 % in the polls . Read more : Germany playing beggar-my-neighbor with eurozone ? If they succeed , it could then be difficult for the current government to muster a majority . Just as suddenly as the AfD party appeared on the scene earlier this year , consensus on Germany 's role in Europe may disintegrate in Berlin , since there is now a conservative political voice breaking the taboo on questioning Germany 's integration within the European Union . Neither the political parties nor the German electorate has mobilized around any burning issues this campaign season , but the AfD has tapped into an undercurrent of frustration about the euro and unease about Germany 's economic resilience . Merkel has steered Europe 's biggest economy well during the global economic crisis : today , unemployment is under 7 % and Germany 's export engine is the envy of many countries . Two decades after reunification , the nation seems to have reached the zenith in economic indicators , but looming in the background are structural factors such as a demographic decline and income disparity which , coupled with aiding Eurozone countries in the periphery , creates unease among this nation of savers . According to the 2013 Transatlantic Trends Survey , a majority of Germans would like to see each EU member state maintain authority over its own economic and budgetary policies . Read more : It 's the economy Dummkopf - CNN debate highights key issue . The AfD may only have 20,000 party members , but about a third of the country 's 50 million voters are believed to be undecided . As a result , there is ample recruiting ground for parties like the AfD to generate a critical mass . Even if it does n't enter the Bundestag this time around , its mere existence could create more political fragmentation and upend Merkel 's current center-right coalition . Just as election campaigning swung into gear at the end of the summer , Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble predicted another bailout for Greece . This was the moment for Merkel to outline a plan for the European project in order to neutralize the opposition complaining about her lack of a plan and calm the euroskeptics in her midst , reinforcing her credibility as a measured leader in times of crisis . Instead she is riding on Germans ' current sense of prosperity to usher in a third term as Chancellor . But as long as the AfD remains a potential player in Berlin , Germans will always be reminded of the solidity of the Deutschmark , and Merkel may soon see the conservatives splinter , just as the German left has done over the past decade . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Sudha David-Wilp .
Germans go to the polls Sunday ; see Angela Merkel up for re - election . Pro - euro Alternative for Germany ( AfD ) party is campaigning for the first time . Sudha David - Meyer : Fledgling party could throw - in gears of Merkel 's government . If it wins seats in parliament , AfD could splinter the conservative alliance , says David - Wilp .