July 31, 2007

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) remain ahead in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 38 per cent of respondents would vote for either party in the next federal election.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) remain ahead in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 38 per cent of respondents would vote for either party in the next federal election.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 25 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with 13 per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with 10 per cent, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) 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.

On Jul. 26, Matthias Rubisch, an economist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, discussed the recent drop in Germany's business confidence index, saying, "We've crossed the high point in growth and we'll now see a slight slowdown, but nothing dramatic. The strong euro, energy prices and rising interest rates were negative influences."

Polling Data

What party would you support in Germany's next federal election?

	Jul. 20	Jul. 13	Jul. 6
Christian-Democratic Union Bavarian Christian-Social (CDU-CSU)	38%	38%	39%
Social Democratic Party (SPD)	25%	24%	24%
Left Party (Linke)	13%	13%	13%
Green Party (Grune)	10%	10%	10%
Free Democratic Party (FDP)	9%	10%	9%

Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Interviews with 2,501 German adults, conducted from Jul. 16 to Jul. 20, 2007. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.