Germany’s ruling parties are bracing for a second electoral disaster within a fortnight as polls for Sunday’s regional election in Hesse suggest that voters will punish Angela Merkel’s shaky coalition government.

Sunday’s vote could plunge Germany’s grand coalition into a fresh crisis, with polls showing a nosedive in support for both Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and coalition partner Social Democrats (SPD), reflecting a nationwide trend. Both parties are trying to play down the significance of the regional election, which comes just two weeks after a catastrophic poll in Bavaria widely blamed on the failings of the Berlin government.

Home to Germany’s financial centre, Frankfurt am Main, Hesse is a former swing state long seen as a bellwether for national politics. For the past 20 years it has been ruled by various CDU-led coalitions. But now polls have the CDU plummeting to 26%, a drop of 12 points since 2013.(theguardian)…[+]