(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) remain in first place in Germany’s political scene, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 35 per cent of respondents would support either of these parties in this year’s federal election.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) remain in first place in Germany’s political scene, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 35 per cent of respondents would support either of these parties in this year’s federal election.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 23 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 16 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.
On Apr. 19, Steinmeier launched the SPD’s election campaign in Berlin, declaring, "We have better answers than the others." The SPD has proposed increasing the tax rate for people earning more than $163,000 U.S. a year from 45 per cent to 47 per cent, and reducing the lowest income tax rate from 14 per cent to 10 per cent.
Polling Data
What party would you support in Germany’s next federal election?
|
Apr. 17 |
Apr. 3 |
Mar. 29 |
|
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
35% |
36% |
34% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
23% |
24% |
25% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
16% |
16% |
17% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
11% |
10% |
10% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
10% |
10% |
10% |
Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,001 German adults, conducted from Apr. 14 to Apr. 17, 2009. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.
