April 01, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The two conservative parties in Germany’s coalition government continue to have a stable level of public backing, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 38 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, up one point in a week.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The two conservative parties in Germany’s coalition government continue to have a stable level of public backing, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 38 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, up one point in a week.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 22 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with 14 per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with 11 per cent, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) also 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.

In March, a survey of 7,000 business people by the Ifo Institute for Economic Research revealed that business confidence rose in Germany for the third consecutive month, prompting analysts to believe the country’s economy is responding better than expected to a global economic slowdown. Klaus Abberger, a senior economist with the Ifo Institite, commented on the results, saying, "We were surprised because there has been all this talk about the financial crisis and how it would affect Germany. (…) We had a surge in the euro, and yet the firms assessed their export situation as being very good."

Polling Data

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

	Mar. 20	Mar. 14	Mar. 7
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU)	38%	37%	38%
Social Democratic Party (SPD)	22%	22%	23%
Left Party (Linke)	14%	14%	14%
Green Party (Grune)	11%	11%	11%
Free Democratic Party (FDP)	11%	11%	10%

Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Interviews with 2,000 German adults, conducted from Mar. 17 to Mar. 20, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.