BERLIN, July 6 (Xinhuanet)-- A majority of Germans support early general elections after Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's government failed to survive a vote of confidence in the parliament last week, Germany weekly Der Stern Wednesday quoted the results of a recent survey as saying.

    Schroeder's government's failure last Friday in the vote of confidence in the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, has paved the way for early elections, expected to be held in mid-September.

    According to Germany's Basic Law, President Horst Koehler has 21 days from the no-confidence vote to decide whether to dissolve the parliament and call early elections.

    Sixty-eight percent of poll respondents said they are in favor of dissolving the parliament and holding early elections, while another 21 percent thought the no-confidence vote smacked of manipulation, and therefore it would be against the Basic Law to dissolve the parliament.

    The remaining 11 percent of those surveyed said they were not sure of their opinion.

    As to the question of whether Schroeder should continue to run for the post of Chancellor as the leader of the Social Democratic Party, the reaction was mixed.

    Forty-nine percent of respondents welcomed the notion, while 40 percent said they believed that it would be better for the party to choose another candidate, and 11 percent said they were not sure. Enditem