(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many people in Germany continue to express support for two right-leaning parties in the governing coalition, 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.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 22 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with 14 per cent, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 11 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 Jul. 31, a local branch of the SPD voted in favour of expelling former economy minister Wolfgang Clement from the party for "violating party solidarity." Clement has publicly defied party policy in recent months and, in January, said that he saw no reason to vote for the SPD in a local election. Clement is contesting his expulsion in the SPD’s national committee.

On Aug. 7, Andrea Nahles, an SPD deputy leader, admitted that the party has faced many challenges this year, saying, "It’s clear that, in the last while, we in the SPD haven’t done ourselves any favours. Now we have a year to convince voters that we aren’t just obsessed with navel-gazing."

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 2,002 German adults, conducted on Jul. 31 and Aug. 1, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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