(Angus Reid Global Scan) - The Christian-Democratic Union (CSU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) continue to lead in Germany's electoral campaign, according to a poll by Allensbach. 42 per cent of respondents would vote for the coalition in next month's federal ballot.

The governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) of chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is second with 28 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 10 per cent, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with nine per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) 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. A federal election has been scheduled for Sept. 18. The CDU has named Angela Merkel as its chancellor candidate. Germany has never had a female head of government.

The FDP is considered as the most likely coalition partner for the CDU-CSU alliance. Support for the combined political organizations is at 51 per cent, while the prospective total for the SPD, Grune and Linke is 46 per cent.

Yesterday, Merkel once again voiced her opposition to Turkey's accession into the European Union (EU), saying, "We oppose membership because we think this would strain the EU. People have the right to know where the boundaries of Europe end. We should be careful not to let Europe expand beyond its limits."

Greens leader and current foreign minister Joschka Fischer said the CDU leader was "criminally blind" in her opposition to Turkey's EU bid, adding, "(In the Cold War), Turkey was important, but then it lay on the fringes—now it is central to our security."

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