This weekend's Lower Saxony regional election will put the German federal administration to the test

There will be a mini-poll on Olaf Scholz's first year as chancellor in Germany's final regional election of 2022. It is the SPD's hope that a split with the conservatives who seek to remove the SPD state premier will help them avoid being swept up in any potential coup.

Much is at stake in Sunday's elections in Lower Saxony, Germany's second-largest state (by area). Compared to the more conservative Christian Demo....