German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party (CDU) looks likely to face another drubbing in Berlin state polls, the latest in a string of regional election losses.

Opinion polls predicted her party would win only about 22 percent of the vote on Sunday - a distant second behind center-left rivals the Social Democrats (SPD).

That would mean that Merkel's CDU would have lost or failed to gain power in six out of seven regional elections held this year.

More misery if liberal party loses

The chancellor faces further bad news if her junior coalition partner, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), fails to gain the necessary five percent of the vote needed to secure representation in the state parliament.

The party's popularity has plunged from 14.6 percent of the poll in the 2009 general election to about 2 percent according to current polls. The FDP might be hoping for an electoral bounce after hardening its attacks on the European bailout plans for Greece.

While the comments led to criticism from the CDU for party leader and Economics Minister Philipp Rösler, they may prove popular with some voters.

Popular mayor eyes re-election

The SPD with Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit look poised to hold onto city hall in the capital, which is also one of Germany's 16 states.

It was expected that Wowereit, would be elected for a third term after gaining an edge on his closest rivals the Greens, in a city where political leanings are broadly to the left of the rest of Germany.

Wowereit,who became the first openly gay leader of a German state in 2001, is expected to scoop up around 32 percent of the vote, improving on his 30.8-percent score at the last election in 2006.

Known for his popular touch and distinctive Berlin accent, Wowereit has ruled in alliance with the Left for ten years but could switch allegiance to the Greens.

A convincing victory could boost Wowereit's credentials within the SPD and even make him a contender for the SPD's candidate for the chancellery in 2013. Former Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück is currently the frontrunner.

Pirates poised for win

Opinion polls showed that another party placed towards the left of the political spectrum, the Pirate Party, could take a significant share of the vote, with one poll predicting 9 percent.

The party, which began in Sweden five years ago, campaigns for copyright reform, free wireless Internet service for all and greater internet privacy.

The Pirates have since broadened their agenda to include issues such as establishing a minimum wage, scrapping Church tax and unlimited access to public transportation funded by taxes. It's seen to offer a new alternative to entrenched mainstream politics, a position once held by the Greens, who are now seen as part of the establishment.

"The Pirates are in tune with the Berlin vibe with their relaxed campaign," Holger Liljeberg of the Info polling institute told the Reuters news agency. "They focus a lot on liberalism, freedom and self-determination."

"And you find technology fiends more often in big cities than in the countryside, and above all in Berlin," he added.

The Greens, whose popularity soared following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan earlier this year, appear to have lost some ground to the SPD in recent months.

Rising rents and arson attacks

In Berlin, the election campaign has been dominated by rising rents in what has long been one of Europe's most affordable capitals, making it a haven for young tourists and struggling artists.

The city, which was divided for 28 years by the Wall, has become one of sharp contrasts. While the influx of new well-to-do residents has spruced up blighted neighbourhoods, the city's unemployment rate remains at 13 percent versus seven percent across the country.

It also has a large immigrant population -- about 13.5 percent -- with varying degrees of integration, including the largest Turkish population outside Turkey.

A spate of apparently random night-time arson attacks on cars in Berlin have also provide the struggling CDU with a chance to attack Wowereit's record on crime-fighting.

Richard Connor (dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar