Germany, Elections | featured news

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's party was in the lead Sunday after the first state poll of a general election year, initial results showed, but the race for a ruling coalition rested on a knife-edge.

Support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives has nudged higher, an opinion poll showed on Sunday, but the weakness of two smaller parties highlights the trouble she may face building another center-right coalition after Germany's 2013 election.

Stocks fell and the spread between Spanish and German bonds hit a record wide, as the prospect of fresh elections heightened concerns about the likelihood of Greece exiting the euro zone.

The crushing defeat follows elections that rejected austerity policies in Greece, France and Italy, severely weakening Chancellor Merkel's hand at her first talks with FranCois Hollande, the new French President, in Berlin tomorrow (TUES).

Germany and the European Commission on Tuesday called on EU nations to stick to their promised budget cuts despite mounting voter discontent, but promised some new efforts to boost growth to alleviate economic hardship.

There has been a great deal of austerity-bashing -- that is to say Germany-bashing -- this French election season. Buoyed by his success in the first round, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande declared last Thursday: "It is not for Germany to decide for the rest of Europe." Vowing to reset Europe on a growth path, he said, "we're not just any country, we can change the situation."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats have suffered a loss in elections in her home state, exit polls suggest.

Chancellor Angela Merkel wins Germany's election, exit polls say, and may have enough votes to build a centre-right coalition.