According to a June 29 Forsa poll, the new Left Party, formed by an alliance between the Party of Democratic Socialism and the Electoral Alternative for Jobs and Social Justice (WASG) could expect 11% of the vote in the September 18 parliamentary elections. This would translate to 60-70 seats, making the new party the third largest in parliament. The poll found support for the conservative opposition Christian Democrats at 47%, the governing Social Democrats at 26%, the Greens at 7% and the right-wing FDP at 6%. The WASG is joining 100-150 members a day, including its first state parliamentarian, SPD-defector Ulrich Maurer, who has been the opposition leader in Baden-Wuertemberg for 11 years. A prominent leader of the Turkish community in Germany also recently left the SPD, and is likely to join WASG.

From Green Left Weekly, July 6, 2005.
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