(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The right-leaning administration led by Angela Merkel will likely be re-elected later this year, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for Merkel’s Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) or its associate Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in this year’s election to the Federal Diet, up one point since early May.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The right-leaning administration led by Angela Merkel will likely be re-elected later this year, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 36 per cent of respondents would vote for Merkel’s Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) or its associate Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in this year’s election to the Federal Diet, up one point since early May.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 24 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 50 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 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 May 17, FDP leader Guido Westerwelle said that the party will not announce any coalition plans until one week before the election. Peter Struck, chairman of the SPD’s parliamentary faction, referred to his comments, saying, "It doesn’t matter what Guido Westerwelle says at this point: the Free Democrats will have to be ready to enter a coalition with the SPD and the Greens if they want to rule. Otherwise they would risk being out of power until at least 2013, making it 15 years since they have been a part of a ruling coalition."
Polling Data
What party would you support in Germany’s next federal election?
|
|
May 15 |
May 8 |
Apr. 24 |
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
36% |
35% |
36% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
24% |
25% |
25% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
14% |
16% |
15% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
11% |
9% |
9% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
10% |
10% |
9% |
Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,501 German adults, conducted from May 11 to May 15, 2009. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.
