(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Germany’s political scene has remained stable over the past few weeks, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 34 per cent of respondents would vote for the ruling Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) or the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in this year’s election to the Federal Diet.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Germany’s political scene has remained stable over the past few weeks, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 34 per cent of respondents would vote for the ruling Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) or the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in this year’s election to the Federal Diet.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 27 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 14 per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with 11 per cent, and the Left Party (Linke) 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 48 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 late 2007, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States have caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and 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.
Germany has been hit hard by turmoil in international financial markets, and went into recession in the third quarter of 2008. In October, Merkel introduced an expensive rescue package aimed at stabilizing the financial system. The measure called for banks and financial institutions to borrow money from the government’s rescue fund.
On Apr. 13, SDP lawmaker Andrea Nahles said that her party’s campaign will focus on promising tax increases for the highest income brackets, saying, "Those whose wealth has expanded massively in recent years thanks to the speculative bubble will simply have to pay a larger contribution to help us all overcome the economic crisis."
Polling Data
What party would you vote for in the next federal election?
|
|
Apr. 7 |
Mar. 19 |
Mar. 4 |
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
34% |
33% |
32% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
27% |
27% |
27% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
14% |
16% |
17% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
11% |
10% |
11% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
10% |
10% |
10% |
Source: Infratest-Dimap
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,500 German adults, conducted from Apr. 5 to Apr. 7, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
