Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
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- Gordon Brown
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- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- New Zealand Election 2008
- Nicolas Sarkozy
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- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
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- U.S. Election 2008 - The Democrats
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Republicans
- U.S. Election 2008: The Primaries
- Vladimir Putin
- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Steady Support for German Coalition Partners
- The coalition of the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) remains the most popular political group in Germany, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 35 per cent of respondents would support either party in the next federal election.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 29 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.
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 June, the Federal Diet approved a raise in the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 16 per cent to 19 per cent in 2007. The VAT had never been raised by more than one percentage point since its introduction in 1968.
On Aug. 26, Merkel discussed the country's fiscal situation, saying, "If we have more tax revenues than we forecast—which I do not yet see—then we are obligated to give that back in one way or another. Everyone's sounding a bit too optimistic to me at the moment. The public budgets are still quite stretched."
Polling Data
What party would you vote for in the next federal election?
Aug. 23 | Jul. 20 | Jul. 12 | |
Christian-Democratic Union | 35% | 35% | 35% |
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 29% | 29% | 28% |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 13% | 13% | 12% |
Left Party (Linke) | 10% | 9% | 9% |
Green Party (Grune) | 9% | 10% | 11% |
Source: Infratest-Dimap
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 German voters, conducted from Aug. 22 and Aug. 23, 2006. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.