• Germany edition
Business & Money
Photo: DPA

Social justice 'key issue' for German voters

Published: 8 Mar 13 08:36 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20130308-48405.html

Most Germans regard social justice and fairness as the most important issue for Germany's upcoming general election, a recent poll revealed – something the centre-left opposition is hoping to use to unseat Chancellor Merkel.

For 54 percent of voting-age Germans asked by opinion polling association Insa, how a party approached social justice was the most important issue for them in choosing whom to vote for in September.

This was even higher in the over-45 category, in which 60 percent named it as their priority.

Among the smaller parties, this figure was higher still with 80 percent of socialist Left party supporters naming social justice their number one topic. For Green party backers, this was 60 percent, and among Pirate Party fans, 63 percent.

While in the bigger parties, the figures were slightly lower. Primary opposition party the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) has 59 percent of its supporters wanting the most effort to be put into tackling social justice.

Sliding to the right side of the spectrum, 41 percent of the conservative Christian Democrat (CDU) supporters named it as their most important issue while only 22 percent pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) followers did.

Other favoured topics for the 2,008 people asked were healthcare with 31 percent of voters naming it number one. Twenty-nine percent chose tackling unemployment, 28 financial matters, 26 percent family policies and 25 percent education, according to Focus news magazine.

“The topic of social justice is important but it is not the only issue,” said Insa head Hermann Binkert. He added that if all the parties decided to concentrate primarily on this area, the CDU and FDP could damage their support base.

DAPD/The Local/jcw

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Your comments about this article:

15:07 March 8, 2013 by Wise Up!
Social Justice? Back to the DDR, for sure!
10:38 March 9, 2013 by DoubleDTown
Nodbody is against "social justice", it sounds great. The problem, what does it mean? To some it means everyone gets a fair chance at an education and nobody should be discriminated against on the color of their skin. To die Linke and their fellow Red-headed nutters it means even people that spend grades 5 to 10 smoking and hanging outside the Getrankemarkt should get enough hand outs to keep them in smokes, beer, and vacations.
18:42 March 10, 2013 by owlguard
Justice referrs to "under the law" meaning that the law should treat all people justly. When you add the word "social" to justice you are changing its meaning. Too often this term is used to describe outcomes as opposed to opportunity. It is a key plank in any socialist party. But in the world where sound bites pass as news and bumper sticker slogans pass as wisdom, the phrase "social justice" gets lots of praise.
03:22 March 12, 2013 by hewsmike
Socialism is a great. Until you run out of the other guy's money.
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Business & Money headlines
Photo: DPA

Hamburg to be run by at least 40 percent women

Hamburg city state has taken the first steps to introducing a women's quota in management - passing a law saying that no committee can be staffed by more than 60 percent of a single gender. READ () »

Photo: DPA

German investor confidence on the up

German investor sentiment rose slightly in June, on firming hopes for a gradual recovery in Europe's biggest economy in the second half of the year, the ZEW economic institute said on Tuesday. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Commerzbank 'to shed 5,000 jobs'

Commerzbank, Germany's second largest bank, looks set to shed 5,000 jobs, it emerged on Tuesday. The move is part of an attempt to recover from heavy losses incurred during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Deutsche Bahn fires staff in corruption clean-up

Deutsche Bahn has fired more than 30 managers who were involved in bribery - and is withdrawing from a slew of countries where corruption is rife. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Sun sets on Siemens solar division

German tech giant Siemens has drawn a line under its foray into the solar power business and is closing down the division, business newspaper the Handelsblatt reported on Monday. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Motorists flush away millions in toilet tickets

Motorists in Germany are throwing away millions of euros - by not cashing in the 'refund' ticket handed out by public toilet companies operating at autobahn stops. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Germany joins EU youth unemployment fight

Germany, Italy, France and Spain sent their economy and labour ministers to Rome on Friday to try to find ways to reduce the mass youth unemployment blighting the lives of millions across Europe. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Canny footballer shoots, scores, is banned

A German amateur footballer who took part in a goal-shooting competition organized by an electronics retail chain, won thousands of euros worth of goods for himself, friends and even complete strangers - until the store banned him. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Rat poison found at Lidl supermarkets

The German discount supermarket chain Lidl was under fire on Thursday for reportedly scattering rat poison on its produce shelves - without warning customers or reporting a rodent problem to the authorities. READ () »

Photo: DPA

Berlin: EU can find 'good solution' to US free trade

Germany is confident the EU will find a "good solution" despite differences and hand the EU Commission a mandate to negotiate a landmark free-trade accord with the United States, a government source said on Friday. READ () »

More Business & Money

See all ads | Join the Marketplace

Jobs in Germany, in English

866 jobs available
591 new jobs this week
9 new jobs today

ALL JOBS »

Latest Business & Money news from Sweden
News from the Goethe-Institut
News from DeutschlandOnline

Toytown Germany
Germany's English-speaking crowd
Trade CFDs with InterTrader.com
Start trading shares, equities, forex, etc. No commission on equities; Low min. margins. Apply for a CFDs account now!
Little house in Spain
'Charming, old, beamed cottage for holiday let in Jesus Pobre, Alicante, Spain
www.littlehouseinspain.com/
Albatross Insurance
Professional and qualified consultancy on all insurance and finance matters in Germany, Telephone: +49 2163 571 1740, Email: bg@albatross-assurance.com
www.albatross-assurance.com
Hotel reservations in Berlin
Visiting Berlin anytime soon? Book your hotel in Berlin here.
Rental apartments in Berlin
For home-from-home holiday accommodation, search for a Berlin apartment to rent.