SPD's Popularity Plummets

Germany's ruling Social Democrats may have won last week's parliamentary battle to pass Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's controversial economic reforms package, but the result is a record low on the country's barometer of political popularity. For the first time, the SPD's popularity rating has fallen below the magic 30 percent mark to a meager 22 percent. In contrast, the conservative CDU/CSU enjoys double the amount of support with a healthy 53 percent. The SPD's coalition partners, the Greens, have also come out worse, dropping from 11 to 9 percent.