(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The designation of Frank-Walter Steinmeier as the Social Democratic Party (SPD) candidate for chancellor in the next German election has given a boost to the junior party in the ruling coalition, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 26 per cent of respondents would support the SPD in next year’s ballot, up five points since late August.

The senior partners in the governing coalition, the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU), are still first with 37 per cent. The Left Party (Linke) is third with 14 per cent, followed by the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 11 per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) with eight 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.

Steinmeier has been Germany’s foreign minister since November 2005, and also serves as Germany’s vice-chancellor.

On Sept. 7, SPD leader Kurt Beck tendered his resignation. The party chose transport, building and urban affairs minister Franz Muentefering to replace Beck, and picked Steinmeier to run against Merkel in the next federal election. The appointments—which come after a surge in support for the Left Party—were interpreted by analysts as an effort from the SPD to move close to the centre of the German political spectrum.

On Sept. 9, Joerg Himmelreich, a political analyst with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, commented on the matter, saying, "It was always going to be this question with the SPD, whether it would completely align itself with the left or make this serious effort to distinguish itself from [the Left Party]."

Germany’s next federal ballot is tentatively scheduled for September 2009.

Polling Data

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

Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,002 German adults, conducted on Sept. 8, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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