German polls open, Merkel on knife edge - Gayo Lues

The vote began on Sunday as over 13 million people are eligible to vote for the state legislature in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), a western region of about 18 million residents.

Sunday’s elections are the third state-level vote this year.

Opinion polls so far are showing good chances of victory for the opposition. Opposition leaders say the vote will send an important signal to Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s government over its austerity strategy.

According to recent opinion polls, Merkel’s center-right coalition is now on the knife edge as her party is facing a defeat in Germany’s most populous state.

Right after a bad European week for Merkel’s coalition, opinion polls show she will likely face more electoral woes at home as the left-leaning Social Democrats and the Greens are predicted to win the Sunday election in the bellwether state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

NRW, which is a big industrial state accounting for a fifth of Germany’s economy, is traditionally a center-left stronghold, although the center-right parties that form the national government ran it for five years until 2010.

MSH/JR