Civic Democrats jump in opinion poll

A poll released on Thursday suggests that support for the ruling right-wing Civic Democrats has risen after months of a political stalemate which threatens to force an early election. The survey by the STEM agency predicted a centre-right bloc led by the Civic Democrats would win 109 seats in the lower house of parliament against 91 seats for the combined leftist Social Democrats and the far-left Communists. The poll confirmed some other public opinion research in the past months that showed a rise in popularity for the party which formed a minority cabinet earlier this month, but seems set to lose a confidence vote in early October.