(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Support for the governing Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) is slightly up in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for either of these parties in the upcoming election to the Federal Diet, up two points since late March.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Support for the governing Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) is slightly up in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for either of these parties in the upcoming election to the Federal Diet, up two points since late March.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 24 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 16 per cent, and both the Left Party (Linke) 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 52 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.
On Apr. 6, Merkel visited German soldiers serving in Afghanistan, and said this mission is the most important challenge facing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The chancellor added: "For me, our aim remains clear, against which our success will be measured, that Afghanistan no longer poses a terrorist threat to our security, in other words, in NATO member countries."
Polling Data
What party would you support in Germany’s next federal election?
|
|
Apr. 3 |
Mar. 29 |
Mar. 20 |
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
36% |
34% |
34% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
24% |
25% |
24% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
16% |
17% |
16% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
10% |
10% |
11% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
10% |
10% |
10% |
Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,501 German adults, conducted from Mar. 30 to Apr. 3, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
