Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Social Democratic candidate at next week’s German election, on Monday sought to build on a victory in the campaign’s only televised debate as pollsters said it had helped him cut into Chancellor Angela Merkel’s lead.

Speaking on the margins of a trade union conference in Berlin, Mr Steinmeier said the debate, watched by 15m viewers, “gives us a tailwind for the next 14 days ... The discussion about the substance revealed clear differences. That’s what it’s about.”