Voters in Germany go to the polls on Sunday with Chancellor Angela Merkel expected to win another term in office. But she may have to find a new coalition partner.
The Christian Democrats Union pped to take the biggest share of the vote, but support has fallen for their Free Democrat allies. The FDP won nearly 15% in 2009, but its fortunes have declined sharply since then.
Ms Merkel's personal approving ratings are at 65%. She has been in power since 2005.
''Germany has had four good years", she wrote in a letter mailed to over five million households on Friday. "We have achieved a lot together. I also want the next four years to be good."
The opposition Social Democrats, led by Peer Steinbrueck, is trailing the Christian Democrats by at least 10 percentage points.
The BBC reports the election is one of the most important in years because of Germany's dominant role in the eurozone.
