BERLIN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Seven of Germany's 16 states will
hold elections this year, making 2011 a crucial test for
Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling centre-right coalition of
Christian Democrats (CDU) and Free Democrats (FDP).
Following are dates and details of the state elections.
February 20 - HAMBURG
The prosperous port city-state will vote on Sunday after
once-popular CDU mayor Ole von Beust quit abruptly in July and a
CDU coalition with the Greens collapsed in November.
The Social Democrats (SPD) are riding high in polls and
could inflict a bruising defeat on Merkel's party. That would
tip the balance of power in the federal upper house, or
Bundesrat, further in the opposition's favour.
Losing Hamburg and its three Bundesrat seats would leave
Merkel's coalition four votes short in the 69-seat chamber,
making it far more difficult to try to get legislation through
the upper house without major concessions to opposition demands.
SPD candidate Olaf Scholz is hoping to win an outright
majority, which would spare him the trouble of forming a
coalition with the Greens -- now polling 14 percent. The CDU is
far behind at 25 percent, down from 42.6 percent in 2008.
March 20 - SAXONY-ANHALT
Incumbent Wolfgang Boehmer (CDU), 75, will not stand for
election again after leading the eastern state since 2002.
CDU candidate Reiner Haseloff has not been able to match
Boehmer's popularity and the CDU has dropped in polls to around
30 percent, down from 36.2 in the 2006 elections, when Boehmer
formed a grand coalition with the SPD.
The Left party also has almost every third voter behind it,
making Saxony-Anhalt an open race.
March 27 - BADEN-WUERTTEMBERG
The affluent southwestern state is a traditional CDU
stronghold but shapes up as a major test for Merkel.
Having held the state for nearly 60 years, the CDU has
angered voters by pushing ahead with the construction of a
disputed railway station in Stuttgart despite a wave of at times
violent protests. [ID:nLDE6AT0U2]
A recent poll put the CDU of state premier Stefan Mappus at
40 percent, with the FDP at 7 percent.
The Greens, once a splinter environmentalist party, have
overtaken the SPD and are polling 25 percent, with the SPD at 19
percent. Losing the state would be a heavy setback for Merkel.
March 27 - RHINELAND-PALATINATE
Kurt Beck of the SPD has been state premier for 17 years and
has ruled with an absolute majority over the past five years.
The CDU has put forward Julia Kloeckner, 38, and the jury is
still out on that move as the polls remain inconclusive so far.
Some still put the SPD far ahead, while others tip the SPD
at 38 percent, just two points ahead of the CDU. Also warranting
attention is the FDP if they make it into the state assembly;
they are now polling 5 percent, just enough to clear the hurdle.
May 22 - BREMEN
The city-state has had SPD mayors since 1945 and that is
unlikely to change. Jens Boehrnsen is likely to win the race.
The SPD, polling around 34 percent, has governed in a
coalition with the Greens, at 20 percent, the past five years.
September 4 - MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN
Erwin Sellering of the SPD took over his predecessor's grand
coalition with the CDU in 2008 after the latter resigned.
In recent polls, the CDU trails the SPD by 3 points. The
Left -- currently at 15 percent -- could tip the balance if the
SPD gets the most votes and opts for a coalition with them
rather than another centrist bloc with the CDU.
This eastern region's economy was hit hard after the 1990
unification with the west, prompting many to leave the state.
Entire areas remain unpopulated even though sectors like tourism
are flourishing.
September 18 - BERLIN
The Greens stand a strong chance of winning one of the
country's top political posts, with Renate Kuenast, a minister
in Germany's last SPD-Greens government, challenging incumbent
Klaus Wowereit of the SPD.
The SPD are just ahead of the Greens in polls. An SPD-Greens
coalition or an SPD-Left coalition are possible.
(Compiled by Annika Breidthardt; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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