Rhineland-Palatinate Prepares For State Elections

MAINZ, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 19: Election campaign billboards featuring lead candidate of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Julia Kloeckner as well the prime minister of Rhineland-Palastinate Malu Dreyer (SPD) stand on February 19, 2016 in Mainz, Germany. State elections scheduled for March 13 in three German states: Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt and Baden-Wuerttemberg, will be a crucial test-case for German Chancellor and Chairwoman of the German Christian Democrats (CDU) Angela Merkel, who has come under increasing pressure over her liberal immigration policy towards migrants and refugees. The Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD), with campaign rhetoric aimed at Germans who are uneasy with so many newcomers, has solid polling numbers and will almost certainly win seats in all three state parliaments. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)