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German Social Democrats Fail to Gain Ground
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Support for the junior member in Germany’s governing coalition is stagnant, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 25 per cent of respondents would vote for the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in this year’s election to the Federal Diet, up one point since mid-March.
The ruling Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) remain on top with 34 per cent. The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is third with 17 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) and the Green Party (Grune), both with 10 per cent.
The next legislative ballot is scheduled for Sept. 27. The CDU-CSU alliance has said it would likely invite the pro-business FDP to form a new federal government. Together, the CDU, CSU and FDP garner the support of 51 per cent of respondents.
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 September 2008, SPD leader Kurt Beck tendered his resignation. The party chose transport, building and urban affairs minister Franz Muentefering to replace Beck, and picked Frank-Walter Steinmeier to run against Merkel in the next federal election. Steinmeier has been Germany’s foreign minister since November 2005, and also serves as Germany’s vice-chancellor.
On Apr. 3, Steinmeier praised a proposal by United States president Barack Obama to approach the war on terror in Afghanistan in a more comprehensive way. Obama suggested increasing reconstruction and training efforts by foreign troops, as well as a focusing more on Pakistan. Steinmeier said the new strategy is "much, much closer" to European views on this matter.
Polling Data
What party would you support in Germany’s next federal election?
|
|
Mar. 29 |
Mar. 20 |
Mar. 13 |
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
34% |
34% |
33% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
25% |
24% |
24% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
17% |
16% |
17% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
10% |
11% |
11% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
10% |
10% |
10% |
Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,001 German adults, conducted from Mar. 25 to Mar. 29, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.