(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) continue to be the most popular political groups in Germany, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 37 per cent of respondents would vote for either party in the next election to the Federal Diet, down one point since early August.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) is second with 20 per cent, followed by the Left Party (Linke) with 14 per cent, the Free Democratic Party (FDP) with 12 per cent, and the Green Party (Grune) with 11 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.

Merkel has recently hinted at breaking the forced alliance with the left-leaning SPD and inviting the pro-business FDP to join the CDU-CSU in the next administration. On Jul. 23, Merkel reiterated her idea, saying, "I think we have every chance to do very, very well at the next election and there are also good chances of continuing our work in a different coalition."

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 2,501 German adults, conducted on Aug. 4 to Aug. 8, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

Archive Search

Over 19,600 Polls
Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Polls & Research archive.