(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The support rate for all political parties in Germany has remained flat throughout this year, even ahead of a legislative election in the fall, according to a poll by FG Wahlen released by ZDF. 37 per cent of respondents would vote for the ruling Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) or the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in this year’s ballot to the Federal Diet, unchanged since late March.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – The support rate for all political parties in Germany has remained flat throughout this year, even ahead of a legislative election in the fall, according to a poll by FG Wahlen released by ZDF. 37 per cent of respondents would vote for the ruling Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) or the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in this year’s ballot to the Federal Diet, unchanged since late March.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 27 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 13 per cent, the Left Party (Linke) with 10 per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) with nine 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.
In Germany, the federal president is elected to a five-year term by the Federal Convention, a body that encompasses the Federal Diet as well as delegates from the country’s 16 states. German voters do not choose the federal president through a direct election.
On May 23, the CDU’s Horst Koehler was re-elected as Germany’s president. Koehler has recently called for stricter regulation of financial markets in the face of the global economic crisis. In March, Koehler declared: "The crisis shows that unrestricted freedom brings destruction. The market needs rules and morals. Many citizens are unsettled."
Polling Data
What party would you vote for in the next federal election?
|
|
May 7 |
Mar. 26 |
Mar. 5 |
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
37% |
37% |
37% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
27% |
25% |
24% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
13% |
15% |
15% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
10% |
10% |
10% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
9% |
9% |
10% |
Source: FG Wahlen / ZDF
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,343 German adults, conducted from May 5 to May 7, 2009. Margin of error is 2.7 per cent.
