Merkel’s party seeks key victory

DÜSSELDORF, Germany: One in five German voters are heading to the polls in a key state election on Sunday, with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party hoping to deal a crushing blow to her main rival four months before national elections.

About 13.1 million eligible voters in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) are casting ballots to elect a new regional parliament for the sprawling industrial region, which has a large migrant population and has been a Social Democratic Party (SPD) stronghold for decades.

But surveys ahead of the vote showed the centre-left party running neck-and-neck with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, with some even placing the CDU ahead.

The opinion polls were the latest indication that initial enthusiasm for the new SPD leader, Martin Schulz, could be fizzling out.

The SPD had been ailing nationwide but saw a surge in support in February when Schulz took over. But that enthusiasm failed to translate into votes in the last two state elections, when the CDU won comfortably.

An election in Germany’s biggest state is always significant, but this year’s NRW vote carries higher stakes, being the last regional vote before national polls and having a direct impact on whether the SPD can close the gap nationwide with the CDU.

After casting his vote in his hometown of Wuerselen, Schulz acknowledged on Sunday that the race would be close, with 30 percent of voters deciding their pick at the last minute.

"That makes it thrilling to the last second. I hope of course that we will be ahead in the evening," he said.

Separately, the CDU’s candidate Armin Laschet, who cast his vote in Aachen, said: "There is a real chance that we can win. Now it’s time for the voters to decide."

Turnout appeared to be brisk at 33.6 percent as of midday, compared to 29.5 percent at the same time in 2012.

The SPD is banking its hopes on incumbent state premier Hannelore Kraft, 55, who secured 39.1 percent in a 2012 vote, while the CDU clinched just over 26 percent.

"If Kraft succeeds, then the chances of the SPD’s bid to take back the chancellery grow. If she loses, it would mean that the Schulz train has slammed against a wall," the weekly Spiegel magazine said.

Political analyst Oskar Niedermayer also noted the state’s significance to the SPD, telling AFP that "a defeat there would be a disastrous symbol" for the party.