German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces her first test at the polls in a general election year Sunday with a state vote that could prove even more decisive for her flailing coalition partners.
Lower Saxony, a region of 6.2 million voters that is governed by the same centre-right alliance with which Merkel governs in Berlin, will elect a new parliament and analysts say the race has narrowed to a dead heat.
Boosting the stakes further is the fact that state premier David McAllister, a charismatic half-Scottish conservative, is widely seen as a potential successor to Merkel.
“We want to continue our success story,” McAllister, 42, told a cheering crowd in the town of Verden at the weekend in a campaign that has seen Merkel make frequent appearances on the Christian Democrats’ (CDU) behalf.
He has predicted a “heart-stopping finale” due to the tightness of the race.
Lower Saxony is home to Europe’s top automaker Volkswagen and its capital is Hanover, the former seat of a German royal dynasty.