Germany's Federal election set for 22nd Sept

Germany's Federal election set for 22nd Sept

Germany, Europe's top economy and political powerhouse, is set for the Federal Election on 22nd September with Chancellor Angela Merkel bidding for a third term. On Friday, President Joachim Gauck officially announced the date of the federal election of the country. The move comes after weeks of discussions between Germany's major political parties. Gauck's decision also came as a new poll showed Merkel's lead over her rival Social Democrats (SPD) has narrowed slightly. The weekly "DeutschlandTrend" survey for public broadcaster ARD put Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU bloc on 39 per cent, down one percentage point from a week back. The centre-left SPD gained two percentage points to register 29 per cent. However, Germany's complex coalition-based political system means that although Merkel is likely to remain chancellor, if the polls stay the same, she may have to change coalition partner. Her current partner, the pro-business Free Democrats, polled four per cent, leaving them just short of the required five per cent for parliamentary representation. The survey had consulted 1,000 voters between February 5 and 6.