Scholz seen losing votes, while far-right AfD to gain in EP vote

After more than two years in government, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's centre-left coalition is expected to lose ground during the European Parliament elections, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) could become the second strongest party.

Germans go to the polls on Sunday in the continent-wide European vote in which around 360 million people can cast their ballot over four days.

But for Germans it will be the first and only nationwide poll between the 2021 and 2025 federal elections.

Final polls for the European election put Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) at around 15%, far below the 25.7% which secured the party's victory in federal elections in 2021.

The prospects are not much better for Scholz's coalition partners. At around 15% in the polls, the Greens are far below the impressive 20.5% they achieved in the 2019 European elections. The liberal Free Democrats (FDP), meanwhile, are projected to garner only 5%.

These three parties, which make up Germany's coalition government, are set to collect only 35% of the vote.

The opposition conservative CDU/CSU bloc tops the EU polls at around 30% and the AfD is vying for second place at around 14%.

Polls also show the newly formed Sahra Wagenknecht alliance party (BSW) gaining ground at around 7%. The populist party combines left–wing social policy with an anti-immigrant stance and criticism of the European Union. It has yet to be tested at the ballot box.

The most populous EU country accounts for 96 of the 720 seats in the EU Parliament, with around 65 million eligible voters.

Polls in Germany close at 6 pm (1600 GMT). Final results are expected after 11 pm.