April 24, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Germany’s governing coalition has gained critics this month, according to a poll by FG Wahlen released by ZDF. 52 per cent of respondents approve of the administration’s performance, down seven points since early April.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Germany’s governing coalition has gained critics this month, according to a poll by FG Wahlen released by ZDF. 52 per cent of respondents approve of the administration’s performance, down seven points since early April.

Official results from the September 2005 election to the Federal Diet gave the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) 226 seats, with the Social Democratic Party (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.

Yesterday, Merkel called on western countries to act in order to prevent a food crisis, saying, "It is very important that the global community does what it can to dampen food prices."

Polling Data

How would you rate the performance of the coalition government?

	Apr. 17	Apr. 3
Good	52%	59%
Poor	42%	34%
Not sure	4%	7%

Source: FG Wahlen / ZDF
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,210 German adults, conducted from Apr. 15 to Apr. 17, 2008. Margin of error is 2.7 per cent.