Lower Saxony Minister President Stephan Weil speaking to reporters on Friday. The SPD, junior partners in Merkel's right-left national government, lost their ruling majority in the northwestern state of Lower Saxony when a coalition deputy jumped ship. Lower Saxony was due in January to hold its state election, which is now likely this November. A poll this week saw the SPD trailing the CDU in the state by a 14-point margin. On the national level, the SPD is trailing 18 points behind Merkel's CDU ahead of the September 24th election, according to a poll published on Wednesday by independent opinion research firm Forsa.

Source: The Local August 04, 2017 15:00 UTC