At the heart of the election is the economy, which has been experiencing a downturn. The ruling coalition, comprising the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP),

An economic slump, an immigration crisis and the lifting of a security blanket provided for decades by the U.S. are issues on the minds of German voters. The far-right AfD is polling in second place.

Three trends, each a source of grave concern for Germans, form the backdrop to Sunday’s Bundestag elections: an uncertain, even threatening international outlook; a tense, divided domestic political scene; and an economy that, while strong in many respects, is stuck in the doldrums.

Germans are going to the polls on Sunday for national elections. Opinion polls suggest the outcome will be a new chancellor and, likely, a new governing coalition.

BERLIN - Germans go to the polls on Sunday in a snap election called after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's three-way coalition. This is how Germany's election system works: Read more at straitstimes.

The Sunday vote comes amid an economy in the doldrums, big questions over Europe's security posture, and a surging far-right.