Voters in Hesse, Bavaria seen dealing mid-term blow to Scholz’s coalition

Germany’s opposition conservatives are expected to win another term in the Hesse and Bavaria state elections on Sunday, seen dealing a blow to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition and attesting to the rise of the far-right.
Worries about national issues like migration, the cost of the green transition and stagnation in Europe’s largest economy have overshadowed the campaigns in both states, home together to around 20 million people – more than many European countries.
So too has frustration with infighting in Scholz’s heterogeneous three-way coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) mid-way through its term.
So too is the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) which has surged to second place in nationwide polls and is expected to gain ground on the last elections in 2018 in both states.