Testing ground: Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein votes
The election will demonstrate whether the centre-left SPD can finally cash in on the hype surrounding their recently appointed leader, Martin Schulz. Schulz’s ascendency in March saw party membership surge by 3%, with some polls even suggesting Schulz could beat Merkel in September’s general election.
But despite leading Schleswig-Holstein’s current government, the SPD will not win an outright majority on Sunday. The resultant coalition talks are being seen as a testing ground, both for the more significant Northrhine-Westphalia election next Sunday, and the all-important national election.
Besides a grand coalition between the SPD and centre-right CDU—the current status quo on the national level—Germany’s two main parties could attempt to form coalitions with the Greens and Liberals.
