GERMAN Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition suffered losses in two state elections on Sunday seen as a crucial test halfway through its term, TV exit polls showed, while the resurgent far right made new gains.

All three parties in the coalition - Scholz’s centre-left SPD, the Greens and the liberal FDP - lost ground in southern Bavaria, the country’s biggest state, and western Hesse, according to the exit polls from broadcasters ZDF and ARD.

The far-right AfD, which has enjoyed a surge in opinion poll ratings in recent times, won more support in both states, they showed.

The conservative CDU party, the main opposition at the national level, came first in Hesse, where it was already in power in a coalition, and gained several percentage points over its last result in 2018, the exit polls showed.

The CSU - the CDU’s sister party - maintained its first place in Bavaria, although its support there fell slightly, according to the polls.

Almost 14 million people were eligible to vote in both states, almost one in five of Germany’s electorate. With both states qualifying as economic heavyweights among the country’s 16 regions, the elections provide a crucial indicator of the population’s mood. AFP

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