BERLIN (AP) German Chancellor Angela Merkel's junior coalition partners sought Monday to rally their voters after suffering a serious state-level defeat over the weekend with national elections now only days away.
The pro-business Free Democrats, or FDP, lost their seats in the state legislature in Bavaria on Sunday, falling below the 5 percent mark needed to enter state parliament.
They had been in Bavarian government with the Merkel-allied Christian Social Union, and the outcome highlighted uncertainty over Merkel's chances of continuing her current center-right coalition government at the national level.
The latest nationwide polls show the FDP at 5 or 6 percent and Merkel's Christian Democratic Union at 40 or 41 percent heading in to the Sept. 22 election enough to form a government together and govern for four more years.
But if the Free Democrats fall below the 5 percent hurdle to get into federal Parliament, it could either force Merkel to choose another coalition partner or give other parties the opportunity to combine forces to form a government themselves.