(02/21/09) -

Germans Stay Loyal to Merkel’s Conservatives

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The governing Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) continue to be the most popular parties in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 34 per cent of respondents would vote for either of the conservative parties in this year’s election to the Federal Diet, down one point since late January.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The governing Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) continue to be the most popular parties in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 34 per cent of respondents would vote for either of the conservative parties in this year’s election to the Federal Diet, down one point since late January.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 23 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 18 per cent, the Left Party (Linke) with 11 per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) with 10 per cent.

The next legislative ballot is scheduled for Sept. 27. The CDU-CSU alliance has said it would likely invite the pro-business FDP to form a new federal government. Together, the CDU, CSU and FDP garner the support of 51 per cent of respondents.

Official results from the September 2005 election to the Federal Diet gave the CDU and the CSU 226 seats, with the SPD a close second with 222 legislators. Neither of the two main parties was able to assemble a coalition government with their preferred partners. In November 2005, CDU leader Angela Merkel was sworn in as Germany’s first female head of government. The current administration includes members of the CDU, CSU and SPD.

In September 2008, SPD leader Kurt Beck tendered his resignation. The party chose transport, building and urban affairs minister Franz Muentefering to replace Beck, and picked Frank-Walter Steinmeier to run against Merkel in the next federal election. Steinmeier has been Germany’s foreign minister since November 2005, and also serves as Germany’s vice-chancellor.

Since 2007, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and ultimately pushed the U.S. economy into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems, and triggered layoffs in companies around the world.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it will increase its lending capacity as much as possible in order to help countries in need.

On Feb. 19, Merkel said Germany is ready to support the IMF, saying, "Germany will not refuse to [financially] support the IMF if necessary. (…) The euro zone is strong and has proven its worth in the crisis."

Polling Data

What party would you support in Germany’s next federal election?

Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,500- German adults, conducted from Feb. 2 to Feb. 6, 2009. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.