This is what Germany looks like for the Hesse election

The state elections in Hesse could change the balance of power far beyond the state. Two weeks after the Bavarian election, the Berlin grand coalition must reckon with a new balance of power in central Germany.

The Hesse election will have consequences: around 4.4 million citizens are called this Sunday to choose a new state parliament. It is expected with a narrow election outcome. Whether the black-green coalition governing in Wiesbaden under Prime Minister Volker Bouffier can remain in office, is recent surveys uncertain.

At the same time, the state election is considered a touchstone for the further fate of the grand coalition in Berlin. Recent polls have seen further losses of votes for the CDU and SPD. The Greens should, therefore, gain further weight.

In the state parliament, it should be at the same time colorful: In addition to FDP and the Left, the AfD can expect to move in the future as the sixth faction in the Wiesbaden Landtag. If the predictions of the electoral researchers are correct, then the alternative for Germany would be represented in all 16 federal states in the state parliaments.