Merkel's party seeks to make her longest serving chancellor

BERLIN, Sept 21 (KUNA) -- The German conservative trend, which groups the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and the Bavarian Social Democratic Party (SDP), are campaigning to win upcoming nationwide elections due on September 24 and secure a new term for the veteran chancellor, Angela Merkel.
According to polls, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) which groups the two parties, will garner bulk of votes, followed by its arch foe, the Christian Democratic Party (SDP), thus the union will most likely be empowered to form a new government for a four-year term.
According to polls, conducted by the local television network, ARD, the CDU will win 37 percent of the votes, followed by the SDP, forecast to pocket some 26 percent of the ballots.
The four other contending parties; the leftists, the greens, the liberals and the hardline Alternative for Germany (AFD) will get nine-12 percent of the votes.
Although the CDU is made up of two conservative parties, the two are represented by a single parliamentary coalition and nominate a single personality for the polls -- Merkel in the coming polls.
Voters for the conservatives' camp mostly represent the middle class, the conservatives, religious citizens, unemployed workers and farmers.
The CDU was established in end of the World War II when it was chaired by Konrad Adenauer, who also headed the government between 1949 and 1963.
Among the prominent personalities who headed the party was the renowned ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl who chaired the government between 1982 and 1998. He was credited for the historic re-unification of east and west Germany.
The CDU focuses in its electoral campaigns on conservative and religious values. Merkel for her part masterminded a campaign for shutting down nuclear power plants and opening doors for hundreds of thousands of refugees in summer of 2015, an approach that came contrary to desires of the party followers.
Nevertheless, the CDU current campaign calls for continuous slash of refugees' numbers and expelling illegal residents. Although Berlin, on March 20, last year, worked out a deal with Turkey to stem refugees' inflow via the Balkans, it encouraged skilled workers to come to the nation.
At the security level, the CDU calls for stricter security precautions, following alarming hike of terrorist attacks.
As to the ties with Turkey, Merkel has declared she will consult with her European counterparts on prospects of halting discussions for Turkey's accession into the EU, while the Socialists have called for instant cessation of these talks.
The CDU aspires to set unemployment at three percent, however Merkel's government has succeeded in lowering it to no less than 5.7 percent.
If the CDU wins, Markel will break the record of the longest serving chancellor after Kohl -- 16 years in office.
Merkel won over the Socialist foe, Gerhard Shroder, headed the cabinet with the Socialists between 2005 and 2009 and with the liberals till 2013. Later on, with the socialists till now. (end) anj.rk