Merkel Favored for 3rd Term, Faces Tight Outcome She enjoys overwhelming popularity and leads an economy that's the envy of Europe. But Angela Merkel is in a fight to clinch a new term for her ruling coalition in Sunday's national election, with polls showing her center-right alliance on a knife-edge as her junior partner's support slumps. Merkel and her conservative Christian Democratic Union appear likely to fend off a challenge from center-left rival Peer Steinbrueck and emerge as the biggest party in the lower house of Parliament, whose members choose the chancellor - making her the strong favorite to win a third term. But no single party has won an absolute majority in Germany in more than 50 years. And surveys show Merkel's coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democratic Party, has fallen from the nearly 15 percent support it won in 2009 to about the 5 percent level needed to keep any seats in Parliament. If Merkel's alliance falls short of a parliamentary majority, the likeliest outcome is a switch to a Merkel-led "grand coalition" of her conservatives with Steinbrueck's Social Democratic Party, the same combination of traditional rivals that ran Germany from 2005 to 2009 in Merkel's first term. That is unlikely to produce a radical change in government policies. However, it could signal a subtle shift in emphasizing economic growth over the austerity that Germany has insisted on in exchange for bailing out economically weak European countries such as Greece. Final results are due within hours of polls closing. But with margins so close, the country could still face weeks of protracted horse-trading before a clear picture emerges about the makeup and policies of Germany's next government. Merkel's center-right coalition might win re-election but "it will be very tight," said Oskar Niedermayer, a political science professor at Berlin's Free University. Much may depend on the turnout among the nearly 62 million voters - about 70 percent in the 2009 ballot. In the days before the voting, prominent figures from all major parties have urged supporters to vote, with the projected outcome too close to take any chances. Given Merkel's popularity - polls show her with approval ratings of up to 70 percent - and the economic success enjoyed during what she calls "the most successful government since reunification" 23 years ago, it might seem surprising that the electoral outcome appears so cloudy. As chancellor, Merkel has won over Germans with her reassuring style, often appearing to be above the political fray. The eurozone's debt crisis has helped preserve her popularity, said Manfred Guellner, the head of the Forsa polling agency. "She has repeatedly given people the feeling she's taking care that this abstract crisis doesn't rain down on their everyday lives," he said. Still, it is Merkel rather than her coalition that enjoys sky-high popularity. Voters haven't forgotten public coalition infighting that frequently marred the past four years. Much of the blame has gone to the Free Democrats. A new party, Alternative for Germany, which calls for an "orderly breakup" of the euro common currency zone and appeals to socially conservative voters, may sap votes from the ruling coalition parties.