January 27, 2008

Abstract: (Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two centre-right parties remain at the top of the Germany’s political ladder, according to a poll by FG Wahlen released by ZDF. 42 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 since December.

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Two centre-right parties remain at the top of the Germany’s political ladder, according to a poll by FG Wahlen released by ZDF. 42 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 since December.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 30 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with nine per cent, the Green Party (Grune) with seven per cent, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) also with seven 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 Jan. 25, ahead of a memorial day for victims of the Nazi regime, Merkel urged Germans to tackle "middle-class anti-Semitism" stating that she sees "in the educated classes, a more disguised form of anti-Semitism, that is not so readily defined." The German chancellor added: "There is, in broad parts of the population, an awful silence when faced with all the historical images, with our own history, and this silence is always a danger. (...) We know we have a special responsibility in the fight against anti-Semitism, racism and intolerance."

Polling Data

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

	Jan. 2008	Dec. 2007	Nov. 2007
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU)	42%	41%	40%
Social Democratic Party (SPD)	30%	31%	31%
Left Party (Linke)	9%	9%	9%
Green Party (Grune)	7%	8%	9%
Free Democratic Party (FDP)	7%	7%	6%

Source: FG Wahlen / ZDF
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,280 German adults, conducted from Jan. 8 to Jan. 10, 2008. Margin of error is 2.7 per cent.