Merkel’s Parties Keep Narrow Lead in Germany

http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/35813/merkelaas_parties_keep_narrow_lead_in_germany/

July 27, 2010

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Germany’s governing conservative parties are only slightly ahead in popularity, according to a poll by Forsa released by Stern and RTL. 30 per cent of respondents would vote for the Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) and its associate Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU) in the next election to the Federal Diet, down two points since late June.

The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) is a close second with 28 per cent, followed by the Green Party (Grune) with 19 per cent, the Left Party (Linke) with 11 per cent, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP)—junior partner in the governing coalition—with four per cent.

In November 2005, CDU leader Angela Merkel was sworn in as Germany’s first female head of government following a federal election. Her "Grand Coalition" administration featured members of the CDU, CSU and SPD.

In September 2009, German voters participated in a new federal election. Final results gave the CDU-CSU 33.8 per cent of the vote and 239 seats, followed by the SPD with 23 per cent and 146 mandates. This time, Merkel invited the FDP to form a government. FDP leader Guido Westerwelle serves as foreign minister.

On Jul. 21, Merkel described Germany’s economic recovery as "powerful" following the global financial crisis and Europe’s more recent debt crisis. The chancellor added that unemployment is undergoing a "minor miracle" as it has fallen for the twelfth consecutive month, adding, "For all the many difficult problems, Germany and its way of grappling with these issues have earned recognition. The state proved itself to be capable of handling the crisis."

Polling Data

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

	Jul. 16	Jun. 25	May 28
Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) / Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU)	30%	32%	30%
Social Democratic Party (SPD)	28%	27%	26%
Green Party (Grune)	19%	18%	16%
Left Party (Linke)	11%	11%	13%
Free Democratic Party (FDP)	4%	4%	7%

Source: Forsa / Stern / RTL
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 2,500 German adults, conducted from Jul. 12 to Jul. 16, 2010. Margin of error is 2.5 per cent.