(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Support for the Christian-Democratic Union (CSU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) is stable in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 43 per cent of respondents would support the coalition in next month's federal election.

The governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) of chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is second with 29 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 nine per cent, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with eight per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) with seven 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 45 per cent.

Earlier this month, Schroeder advised to "take the military options off of the table" in dealing with Iran's purported nuclear capabilities.

In an interview with Der Spiegel released yesterday, FDP member Wolfgang Gerhardt—considered as a possible choice for foreign minister—criticized Schroeder for his comments on Iran, saying, "If the chancellor fears the situation might not be resolved peacefully, then he should be getting on a plane immediately to visit the U.S. president instead of voicing such speculation during an election campaign. "

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