BERLIN – Elections in two German states on Sunday pose a difficult test for Chancellor Angela Merkel's party, six months before a national vote that will determine who succeeds the country's longtime leader.
Voters are choosing new regional legislatures in Baden-Wuerttemberg, an economic powerhouse region in southwestern Germany, and neighboring Rhineland-Palatinate.
Those ballots kick off an electoral marathon this year, which features six state elections and culminates in the Sept. 26 vote for a new national parliament.
Polls point to weak results for Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union. Amid discontent over a sluggish start to Germany’s vaccination drive, and with coronavirus restrictions easing only gradually, Merkel’s