(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The coalition of the Christian-Democratic Union (CSU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) could form the next federal administration in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 45 per cent of respondents would support the alliance in an election.

The governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) of chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is second with 28 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with nine per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with eight per cent, and the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) with five per cent.

The Greens are currently the SPD's coalition partner in the federal administration. Both parties have a combined support of 36 per cent, 18 per cent less than a prospective alliance between the Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats.

On May 22, the Christian Democrats won the election in North Rhine-Westphalia with 44.8 per cent of the vote. The Social Democrats had been involved in the government of Germany's most populous state since 1966. While the next parliamentary ballot was tentatively scheduled for September 2006, Schroeder has openly suggested holding an early federal election. A confidence vote is expected before the end of the legislative period on Jul. 1.

The federal government has been affected by Germany's highest jobless ratio since the 1930s. The country's unemployment rate was 11.8 per cent in March, meaning 4.8 million adults are looking for work.

CDU leader Angela Merkel expressed confidence on a good result in the next ballot, saying, "It comes down to a single question: Who do the people trust to make Germany strong once again?"

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