FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2011 file photo German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts at the beginning of the weekly board meeting of the German Christian Democratic party in Berlin, Germany. An exit poll indicates that Germany's main opposition parties have made gains in a state election on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011, that comes at a difficult time for Chancellor Angela Merkel's government. The ARD television exit poll put the center-left Social Democrats ahead in Sunday's election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 37 percent support _ an improvement over five years ago _ but showed Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats sliding to 24 percent. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)