Merkel set to win the polls, boost ties with China

With Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian counterpart the Christian Social Union in Bavaria consistently leading the opinion polls, the German chancellor seems set to win her fourth federal parliamentary election on Sept 24.

The opposition Social Democratic Party, the oldest political party in Germany, has been led by former European Parliament president Martin Schulz in the election, in which about 61.5 million people are eligible to vote.

Germany's recent election history shows rarely a single party has won absolute majority in the Bundestag (the German parliament) to form a government. No wonder many observers say the upcoming election could see Merkel's ruling coalition and Schulz's party building a "grand coalition" to form the new government.