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German Election Doesn’t Alter Preferences
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Germany’s top five political parties have practically the same level of support they had before going into an election last month, according to a poll by FG Wahlen released by ZDF. 38 per cent of respondents would vote for the governing Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and its associate Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in the next election to the Federal Diet.
The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) is in second place with 21 per cent, followed by the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 14 per cent, the Left Party (Linke) with 12 per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) with 11 per cent.
In November 2005, CDU leader Angela Merkel was sworn in as Germany’s first female head of government following a federal election. Her "Grand Coalition" administration featured members of the CDU, CSU and SPD.
German voters participated in a new federal election on Sept. 27. Final results gave the CDU-CSU 33.8 per cent of the vote and 239 seats, followed by the SPD with 23 per cent and 146 mandates. This time, Merkel invited the FDP to form a government. FDP leader Guido Westerwelle will serve as foreign minister.
On Oct. 24, the CDU, CSU, and FDP coalition was officially announced, along with a plan—proposed by the FDP—to cut income taxes by approximately $32.6 billion U.S. starting in 2011.
On Oct. 26, Merkel defended the promised cuts, declaring, "We made the decision to take a path fully directed towards growth, with no guarantee at all that it will work, but which offers the chance that it will work. By saving, saving, saving I see no chance of success."
Polling Data
What party would you vote for in the next federal election?
|
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / |
38% |
|
Social Democratic Party (SPD) |
21% |
|
Free Democratic Party (FDP) |
14% |
|
Left Party (Linke) |
12% |
|
Green Party (Grune) |
11% |
Source: FG Wahlen / ZDF
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,298 German adults, conducted from Oct. 13 to Oct. 15, 2009. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.
