On Sunday, voters go to the polls in the German states of Hesse and Lower Saxony. The vote results are being viewed as a test of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's four-month-old government which has tumbled quicker in the opinion polls than any other post-World War II government.
In these regional elections, most of the ten million people eligible to vote are expected to focus on national issues.
Popular support for Schroeder has plummeted in wake of rising unemployment, tax hikes and a lack of convincing economic reforms.
Polling booths open at 07:00 GMT, and if surveys are to be believed, the majority of the electors will vote for the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), according to AFP.
Just before Sunday's elections, public opinion polls showed Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats (SPD) trailing behind the conservative Christian Democrats.
Moreover, according to the BBC, it is unlikely that even the Social Democrats' opposition to a military attack on Iraq will be enough to persuade the voters, although it certainly helped them to win the general election back in September. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
