(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The Christian-Democratic Union (CSU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) continue to dominate in the early stages of Germany's electoral campaign, according to a poll by Emnid released by N24 television. 42 per cent of respondents would support the coalition in the next election to the Federal Diet.

The governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) of chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is second with 26 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke)—which merges the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social Justice (WASG)—with 12 per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with nine per cent, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with eight per cent.

On Jul. 1, Schroeder deliberately lost a no-confidence motion in the Federal Diet after a 151-296 vote, with 148 abstentions. In a Jul. 21 televised address, German president Horst Koehler agreed to hold an early ballot, saying, "In this serious situation, our country needs a government that can pursue its goals with steadiness and vigour. For this, the federal government requires the support of a reliable majority that is able to function."

The election is scheduled for Sept. 18. The CDU has named Angela Merkel as its chancellor candidate. Germany has never had a female head of government.

In an interview published by Britain's Financial Times on Jul. 29, SPD member and Berlin premier Klaus Wowereit acknowledged that the campaign would be complicated for the ruling political organization, declaring, "Our biggest problem is the public view that the government is dead. That's obviously wrong, but to battle against this view is extremely difficult."

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