Merkel risks reverse in German state election (AP)

  The single most important issue for Europe today remains Germany on both an economic and political front.   German Chancellor Angela Merkel has walked a tightrope over the last few years of keeping the EU together without infuriating the German populace to the point of having to abandon ship.  

AP - As Europe looks to Germany for guidance in the Greek debt crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel's government risks a painful reverse at home in a state election this weekend that could make the country harder to govern.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced to size up her election-year strategy Monday after a bitter defeat to the centre-left opposition in a cliffhanger state poll. In one of the tightest state races in recent memory, the Social Democrats and the Greens Sunday eked out a one-seat majority in Lower Saxony over the incumbent coalition of Merkel's Christian Democrats with the Free Democrats.

BERLIN (AP) -- A bad European week for Chancellor Angela Merkel looks likely to end with more electoral woes - this time, the likely re-election of a center-left government in Germany's most populous state, which Merkel has sought to portray as irresponsibly addicted to debt....

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has walked a tightrope over the last few years of keeping the EU together without infuriating the German populace to the point of having to abandon ship.  

In what is a surprising warning shot for Merkel's popularity ahead of the September general election in Germany, moments ago the CDU/FDP ruling coalition lost the vote in Lower Saxony to the center-left Social Democratic Party/Greens block by a last minute, one-seat win according to Reuters.

Winning the Summit but Losing the War German chancellor Angela Merkel was the EU Summit Winner. She gave next to nothing to Italy and France, and a pittance to Spain. However, there was a price to that pittance, and it could cost Merkel dearly. Please consider German Party Leader Threatens To Axe Coalition