Germany's chancellor set for fresh election pain

Embattled German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is facing the prospect of another painful day at the ballot box as two states head to the polls, two weeks after the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won a resounding victory in Saxony-Anhalt.

The votes in the city-state of Berlin and the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on Sunday are the last in a bumper year of five German state elections that have exposed widespread public frustration with Merz's coalition government and prompted serious speculation about the chancellor's future.

The debacle earlier this month for Merz's Christian Democrats (CDU) in Saxony-Anhalt - where the AfD soared to almost 44 per cent of the vote, while the CDU collapsed to some 17 per cent - has only intensified rumours within conservative ranks about a rare "chancellor swap."

A further humiliation for the CDU could follow on Sunday in the north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the party is scrambling to avoid its worst-ever showing in a German state election. The latest polls had it hovering just above the five per cent threshold needed to enter parliament.

Having led the polls for months, the AfD is hoping to hold off a centre-left comeback by incumbent premier Manuela Schwesig from the Social Democrats (SPD).

In Berlin, meanwhile, Merz's party could lose hold of the mayor's office to The Left - a successor to the socialist party that governed the former East Germany - in what could mark the last straw for the beleaguered chancellor.

Polling in both elections opens at 8am (4pm AEST), with first results based on exit polls expected when polling stations close at 6pm (2am Monday AEST).