Merkel faces real test in German state elections
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Chancellor Angela Merkel faces her first genuine test at the ballot box since she came to power in 2005 when two German states elect new state parliaments on Sunday.
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Germany faced a surge of far-right parties in eastern state elections, worrying about their rise and the ensuing damage to the country's image.
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German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's party vowed to press on with its tough economic reform drive, despite a fresh state election rout that spells trouble for a string of further polls this month.
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Germany's far-right look set to enter the parliament in an eastern state after Sunday's regional polls.
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"A loss in Hesse would be bad for morale for the CDU nationally and for Merkel"  By Madeline ChambersBERLIN  - Voters in two western German states go to the polls on Sunday in a test for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) before next year's federal election.Senior CDU figures are fighting to hold on to power in both states but the race is especially tight in Hesse, home to the financial capital of Frankfurt, where Merkel ally Roland Koch has run a divisive campaign focused on crime and immigration.Koch's battle has ratcheted up tensions in Merkel's fractious national coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). A strong SPD showing in Hesse could mean a further deterioration in relations and policy gridlock. Read more
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State elections in the former East Germany are expected to see a resurgence by far right parties.
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A far-right anti-foreigner  party has embarrassed German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a  regional election in her home state and delivered a wake-up  call to her 10-month-old government.
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French presidential candidate Segolene Royal met German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Tuesday.Comment
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Germany&#39;s far-right is expected to profit from discontent over Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder&#39;s welfare cuts in elections in two eastern states on Sunday that observers fear will damage the country&#39;s image.
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Local election results in Germany&#39;s most populous state indicate another setback for Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder - but the decline has slowed.
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The German chancellor, Gerhard SchrÃ¶der, suffered a setback yesterday as voters in a regional election punished the government for pushing through controversial welfare reforms that have sparked weeks of street protests.
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BERLIN : German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder&#39;s party vowed to press on with its tough economic reform drive, despite a fresh state election rout that spells trouble for a string of further polls this month.
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BERLIN : Fringe parties including the far-right made strong gains in two former communist eastern states as voters dealt fresh electoral blows to German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder&#39;s Social Democrats amid ire over his economic reforms.
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German voters handed Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder a fresh setback in elections in the small western state of Saarland today, reflecting public anger over his drive to cut into the country - s cherished network ...
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Chancellor Angela Merkel will highlight  the robust economic and human ties between Germany and Turkey  on a visit this week, but also deliver a firm message to Ankara  on its troubled bid to join the European Union.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced tough questions Monday after her conservatives suffered heavy losses in a key state election as voters spurned a hardline campaign on crime and immigration.
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Chancellor Merkel gets high marks as Germany prepares to lead the EU next year and host the G-8 summit.