(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Three-in-five Germans would cast a ballot to elect Angela Merkel as their chancellor, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 61 per cent of respondents would vote for the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) leader in a direct election.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Three-in-five Germans would cast a ballot to elect Angela Merkel as their chancellor, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 61 per cent of respondents would vote for the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) leader in a direct election.
Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Sigmar Gabriel is a distant second with 18 per cent.
In November 2005, Merkel was sworn in as Germany’s first female head of government following a federal election. Her "Grand Coalition" administration featured members of the CDU, the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) and the SPD.
In September, German voters participated in a new federal election. Final results gave the CDU-CSU 33.8 per cent of the vote and 239 seats, followed by the SPD with 23 per cent and 146 mandates. This time, Merkel invited the Free Democratic Party (FDP) to form a government. FDP leader Guido Westerwelle serves as foreign minister.
In November, former environment minister Gabriel was elected new leader of the SDP, substituting Franz Muentefering.
On Dec. 20, Gabriel said his party will not support a planned surge of troops in Afghanistan, declaring, "There is already an imbalance between combat troops and civil reconstruction workers. (…) Whoever is demanding a more robust mandate for a combat operation wants the emphasis of the mission to shift towards greater military violence and more dead on all sides."
Polling Data
If you could elect the chancellor directly, who would you vote for?
|
Angela Merkel (CDU) |
61% |
|
Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) |
18% |
|
Other / Undecided |
21% |
Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,500 German adults, conducted from Dec. 7 to Dec. 11, 2009. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.
