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Merkel Parties Have Five-Point Lead in Germany
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Public support for the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) increased in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 33 per cent of respondents would vote for either party in the next federal election.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 28 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 13 per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with 11 per cent, and the Left Party (Linke) 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 Dec. 29, Merkel discussed her economic policies in an article published in Handelsblatt, writing, "To be able to survive amid worldwide competition, we must push ahead with structural reforms. Work on the necessary reform projects in Germany will continue undiminished over the next year. Despite the successes that have been accomplished, the biggest stretch of the road still lies ahead of us."
Germany's unemployment currently stands at a four-year low of 9.6 per cent.
Polling Data
What party would you support in Germany's next federal election?
Dec. 22 | Dec. 15 | Dec. 1 | |
Christian-Democratic Union | 33% | 31% | 33% |
Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 28% | 29% | 26% |
Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 13% | 14% | 13% |
Green Party (Grune) | 11% | 10% | 11% |
Left Party (Linke) | 9% | 10% | 11% |
Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Interviews with 2,498 German adults, conducted from Dec. 18 to Dec. 22, 2006. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.