(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Germany’s top Conservative parties remain highly popular despite losing some support, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 35 per cent of respondents would vote for the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) or the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in the next election to the Federal Diet, down two points since mid-September.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 25 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 13 per cent, and both the Left Party (Linke) and the Green Party (Grune) with 11 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 Sept. 7, 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 Oct. 13, the German government approved a financial rescue package worth approximately $679 billion U.S. Merkel introduced the plan saying, "Today we have established a first building block for new financial market conditions. (...) We have one goal—(the plan) should help to create new confidence, between banks, in the economy and among citizens."

Germany’s next federal ballot is tentatively scheduled for September 2009.

Polling Data

What party would you vote for in the next federal election?

Source: Infratest-Dimap
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,500 German voters, conducted on Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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