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Diamond Member
Concern about atomic power continued to boost Germany's opposition Green party, which together with the Social Democrats, or SPD, would supplant Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right government if elections were held today, an opinion poll published Wednesday showed.
The Greens would become the second-strongest party and for the first time could claim the post of Germany's chancellor, according to a poll published by the Forsa survey institute for Stern magazine. General elections are still two years away, though.
Jumping seven percentage points from a survey a week earlier, the Greens now would garner 28% of votes, becoming the biggest opposition party before the SPD, which is seen at 23%, according to the poll. The two main opposition parties together would have a 51% majority.
Ms. Merkel's CDU would get 30%, down three percentage points, while its junior coalition party, the Free Democrats, or FDP, would only garner 3% and with that not gain any parliamentary representation. The radical opposition Left party would garner 7%.
Currently, the CDU, FDP and SPD are spending most of their time debating how to phase out nuclear power, but the issue is seen as a Green core theme, leaving the other parties without credibility, Forsa head Manfred Guellner is quoted as saying in a release by Stern magazine.
Germany's Greens Surge in Poll - WSJ.com