State elections are being held in the German federal states of Saxony, Thuringia and Saarland. Local elections are being held in the federal state of North Rhine - Westphalia. All are being seen as an important indicator of the national elections scheduled to be held in four weeks.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party, which has a comfortable lead over its Social Democratic (SPD) coalition partner in the national polls, is expected to lose its absolute majority in Thuringia and Saarland.

In these two federal states, the Social Democratic Party may form a coalition with the Linke, a left-wing party. This would be the first left-wing coalition in western Germany.

After the national elections, Ms Merkel intends to form a coalition with the pro-business FDP.