(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) continue to dominate Germany’s political scene, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 37 per cent of respondents would vote for the conservative parties in the next election to the Federal Diet, up one point since early August.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 25 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with 13 per cent, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 12 per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) with 10 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 Aug. 27, SPD secretary-general Hubertus Heil attended the U.S. Democratic National Convention in Colorado, and declared: "We are here (...) not so much to watch the show—interesting as it is—as to talk to people in order to find out what an administration led by Barack Obama would mean in terms of foreign, security, economic and environmental policy. Obviously it would have an effect on German politics, and that is why we are here."

Polling Data

What party would you vote for in the next federal election?

Source: Infratest-Dimap
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 German voters, conducted on Aug. 19 to Aug. 20, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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