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The Week in Germany: Politics July 22, 2005 Election poll gap narrows slightly Germany's conservative opposition has seen its commanding poll lead over the governing Social Democrats (SPD) dwindle slightly ahead of general elections expected in September, according to the latest poll data.
Support for the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, slipped to 44% from 46% last week and 49% in early June, according to the latest Forsa poll for Stern newsweekly. It was the third weekly drop so far this month for the conservatives, who last week unveiled an election platform that promised to raise Germany's sales tax by two percentage points to pay for a cut in payroll taxes, thereby making labor cheaper. Still, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's center-left SDP is unlikely to draw much comfort from the new poll. The Social Democrats scored 27%, the same as a week before. Their junior coalition partner, the environmentalist Greens, meanwhile gained one point to 8%. Another poll winner was a new alliance of former East German communists and SPD dissidents in western Germany, which rose one point to 11%, putting it well clear of the five-percent threshold needed to win representation in parliament. The so-called "Left Party," which is the only party to oppose potentially painful welfare state cuts, has the backing of about 30% of voters in the formerly communist east, which still lags behind the west economically. The party, which has targeted the votes of traditional SPD supporters, is threatening to complicate Schroeder's uphill battle to win a new mandate for his controversial economic reforms — and could also sap support from the conservatives in the East. In May, Schroeder announced plans to seek elections a year ahead of schedule, arguing that a long run of state election defeats meant that his coalition could no longer effectively govern. Polls show that 75% of voters want early elections, which are also supported by all the major parties and the business community.
Yet pollsters also say that the elections are more likely to hasten Schroeder's departure than silence his critics. German voters have soured on Schroeder and his SPD amid poor economic news and the introduction of the unpopular "Agenda 2010," an ambitious overhaul of Germany's post-war welfare and labor market rules. Germany has 4.7 million unemployed people, and domestic issues, chief among them jobs and growth, look likely to dominate the poll. So far, the conservatives, led by Germany's first-ever female chancellor candidate Angela Merkel, seem to be winning the battle to convince voters that they can fix Europe's largest economy. CDU proposals to pull Germany out of the economic doldrums include loosening strict rules on hiring and firing, reducing non-wage labor costs blamed for discouraging new hiring and raising taxes on goods and services. SPD proposals include raising taxes on the wealthy to help fund research and education, lowering corporate taxes and extending minimum wage provisions to cover more companies and workers. Links:
 Schroeder's
Social Democrats unveil platform (from Germany.info)
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