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Merkel Drops to Second Place in Germany
- The Social Democratic Party (SPD) has become the most popular political organization in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 30 per cent of respondents would support the SPD in the next election to the Federal Diet.
The Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) are second with 29 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 15 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.
The poll gives the CDU and CSU its lowest level of support since Merkel became leader in April 2000. Yesterday, Merkel said she would attempt to make the environment one of the main topics of the next G-8 meeting, saying, "To prevent global warming, the nations with the largest emissions of gases that are causing climate change have to take part. That means we've certainly got our work cut out for us, let me say that clearly."
Polling Data
What party would you support in Germany's next federal election?
Sept. 22 | Sept. 1 | Aug. 25 | |
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 30% | 29% | 29% |
Christian-Democratic Union | 29% | 30% | 30% |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 15% | 14% | 14% |
Left Party (Linke) | 10% | 11% | 12% |
Green Party (Grune) | 9% | 10% | 10% |
Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Interviews with 2,499 German adults, conducted from Sept. 18 to Sept. 22, 2006. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.
