Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
- Global Warming
- Gordon Brown
- Hamas
- Immigration
- Iran
- Iraq War
- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- New Zealand Election 2008
- Nicolas Sarkozy
- North Korea
- Oil and Gas
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
- Terrorism
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Democrats
- U.S. Election 2008 - The Republicans
- U.S. Election 2008: The Primaries
- Vladimir Putin
- Yasuo Fukuda
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Double-Digit Lead for Germany’s Conservatives
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Germany remain supportive of the country’s two main conservative parties, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 38 per cent of respondents would back the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in the next election to the Federal Diet, down one point since early March.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 27 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with 12 per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with 11 per cent, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with nine 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 Mar. 18, Merkel addressed the Israeli legislature and became the first German head of state to speak to Israeli lawmakers in her native language. Apologizing for the Nazi holocaust, the chancellor used its Hebrew designation to say it was ignoble for Germany, declaring, "The Shoah fills us Germans with shame. I bow to the victims. I bow to the survivors and to all those who helped them survive."
Polling Data
What party would you vote for in the next federal election?
|
Mar. 18 |
Mar. 5 |
Feb. 6 |
|
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
38% |
39% |
38% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
27% |
28% |
30% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
12% |
12% |
11% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
11% |
10% |
9% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
9% |
8% |
9% |
Source: Infratest-Dimap
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 German voters, conducted on Mar. 17 and Mar. 18, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.