German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right coalition lost power in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, first estimates showed yesterday, after a vote that could presage national elections next year.

The opposition also failed to gain sufficient support to form a government

Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) scored 30.6 per cent, according to ARD public television, with her junior partners at the national level, the Free Democrats (FDP), winning 8.3 per cent – not enough to retain power in the northern state.

However, the opposition – combining the centre-left Social Democrats and ecologist Greens – also failed to gain sufficient support to form a government, with 29.9 per cent and 13.6 per cent respectively.

This left as a strong possibility a so-called ‘grand coalition’ between the CDU and SPD, which many believe could be the final result of the national elections due in September or October 2013.

The big winners on the night were the Pirates, an upstart party that has shaken up the staid world of German politics with a campaign based on more transparency in the political process and internet freedom.

For the third consecutive regional election, they breached the five-per cent mark needed to enter the state parliament, winning 8.2 per cent of the vote.

But for the FDP, although they lost more than six percent compared to the last election in 2009, it was a better-than-expected result, given that they are polling nationally at around three per cent.

Turnout was low, with around 60 per cent ofthe 2.2 million registered voters casting their ballot, compared to more than two-thirds in 2009.

The far-left Linke failed to clear the five-per cent hurdle, scoring around 2.4 per cent.