Support in Germany for a right-wing anti-immigrant political party has risen by one percentage point to reach 9% nationwide.
According to a fresh opinion poll, backing for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) was particularly marked in the eastern part of the country where it reached 14% generally but hit 18% among men in the region.
Violent protests have broken out in some eastern parts of Germany in recent months. During the years of communist exclusion, the people there seldom even saw any foreigners let alone welcome them to their country.
The poll results come amidst infighting among the ruling parties on how to handle the one million migrants expected this year alone.
"The AfD is the only party in Germany which unashamedly exploits prejudice among parts of the population towards foreigners," political scientist Ulrich von Alemann told the red-top Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
The AfD has called the government’s open door policy "asylum chaos" and the party's deputy leader has accused Merkel of "people smuggling" for allowing thousands of asylum seekers into the country after they got stuck on the Hungarian border.
The AfD mustered some 5,000 supporters who marched in Berlin on Saturday to protest against current asylum policies.
The poll of 2,442 people showed Merkel’s conservatives (CDU) holding 36% and the socialist democrats going up one point to 26%.
The opposition Greens and pro-business Free Democrats were unchanged at 10% and 4% respectively.
