(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Germany’s conservative parties in the governing Grand Coalition are maintaining a strong level of support, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 39 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 one point since mid-November.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 24 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with 10 per cent, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) also with 10 per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) 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 Dec. 5, Merkel’s cabinet approved 14 measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Germany by as much as 40 per cent by 2020. The regulations include changing the type of light bulbs used in the country, promoting projects to capture carbon in underground caverns, and using bio-fuels for cars.

Environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said Germany will set "an example" for other countries to adopt similar measures when they meet to discuss climate change in a United Nations (UN) summit in Bali this month, saying, "No other country in the world can go to Bali with such an ambitious and at the same time concrete program."

Polling Data

What party would you support in Germany’s next federal election?

Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Interviews with 2,500 German adults, conducted from Nov. 26 to Nov. 30, 2007. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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