German Chancellor Angela Merkel?s party faces its first electoral test by the resurgent Social Democrats under challenger Martin Schulz as the western state of Saarland goes to the polls on Sunday.
While the state is the nation?s second-smallest with just short of 1 million people, a defeat for Merkel?s party would signal vulnerability for the chancellor as she seeks a fourth term.
In the state?s last vote in 2012, Merkel?s party took 35.2 percent, the SPD 30.6 percent, the Left 16.1 percent and the Greens 5 percent.
The political calculus for Merkel?s party doesn?t get easier after Saarland.
The Greens, at 4 percent, would fail to meet the threshold to enter the state assembly, according to the poll.
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