(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Support for Social Democratic Party (SPD) member Frank-Walter Steinmeier has increased in Germany, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 35 per cent of respondents would vote for the current foreign minister if they could directly elect the country’s chancellor, while 49 per cent would support incumbent Angela Merkel.

Support for Steinmeier increased by six points since July, while backing for Merkel dropped by eight points.

Official results from the September 2005 election to the Federal Diet gave the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (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 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 served as foreign minister since 2005. In November 2007, he also assumed the post of vice-chancellor after the retirement of Franz Muentefering.

Earlier this month, political analyst Gerd Langguth commented on Steinmeier’s chances of becoming the leader of his party as the SPD is moving further to the left, saying, "Steinmeier is a conservative inside the SPD. If he runs and has to represent a party whose positions are too far away from his own, he risks losing credibility."

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

Polling Data

If you could directly elect the federal chancellor, who would you vote for?

Source: Infratest-Dimap
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,501 German voters, conducted on Aug. 4 to Aug. 6, 2008. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.

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