Merkel slips to third in exit polls

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party slipped behind the environmentalist Greens to third place in a state election, its worst result in Bremen in over 50 years, exit polls showed.

The governing Social Democrats in northern Bremen state extended their lead from 36.7% to 38.8% of the vote, and their junior partner, the Greens, surged by almost 6% to 22%, according to calculations based on partial results.

Ms Merkel’s Christian Democrats lost about 6%, getting only 20% of the vote for the state legislature, the party’s worst result there since 1959.