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Angela Merkel's party suffers election drubbing in 25-year low Angela Merkel's party suffers election drubbing in 25-year low
(about 13 hours later)
Angela Merkel's conservatives suffered their second electoral blow in two weeks on Sunday, slumping to their lowest level since reunification in 1990 in a Berlin city vote in which citizens roundly rejected her open-door refugee policy.  
Voters turned to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which, with 12.2 per cent of the vote, will enter its 10th regional assembly of the country's 16 states. The Social Democrats and chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Party have emerged from Berlin state elections as the strongest two parties – biut it came amid significant gains for the country's far-right AfD party.
A year before a federal election, the result is likely to raise pressure on Merkel and deepen divisions within her conservative camp. Both main parties lost enough support to ensure they will not be able to continue a coalition government together, according to exit polls on Sunday.
"There is no question. We didn't get a good result in Berlin today," said Michael Grosse-Broemer, a senior CDU lawmaker said. However, he blamed his party's historic losses in Berlin primarily on local issues. The SPD won 23% of the vote, dropping 5.3%, while the CDU won 18%, down 5.4%, ARD public television reported.
"I think it is dangerous to transfer the Berlin result to the federal level," he told broadcaster ZDF. The anti-immigrant nationalist Alternative for Germany party won 11.5% of the vote, behind the Greens and the Left party, each with 16.5%, but with more than enough to enter Berlin's state parliament, its 10th nationwide.
A backlash against her migrant policy has raised questions about whether Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader, will stand for a fourth term next year. But given a dearth of options in her party, she still looks the most likely candidate. The vote comes two weeks after Mrs Merkel's CDU came in third in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and Sunday's showing - her party's worst in the capital - will keep up the pressure on the chancellor a year ahead of national elections.
Initial projections from broadcaster ZDF put Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) on 18 percent, down from 23.3 percent in the last election in 2011.
The Social Democrats (SPD) also lost support, falling to 23.1 percent from 28.3 percent but remained the biggest party and are likely to ditch the CDU from their current coalition.
The result compounds Merkel's problems after a rout in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern two weeks ago triggered calls from her conservative allies in Bavaria to toughen up her migrant policy. In particular, they want a cap of 200,000 refugees per year but Merkel has rejected this outright.
The AfD has campaigned heavily on the migrant issue, playing to voters' fears about the integration of the roughly 1 million migrants who entered Germany last year.The AfD has campaigned heavily on the migrant issue, playing to voters' fears about the integration of the roughly 1 million migrants who entered Germany last year.
"From zero to double digits, that's unique for Berlin. The grand coalition has been voted out - not yet at the federal level, but that will happen next year," said AfD candidate Georg Pazderski to cheering supporters after the results."From zero to double digits, that's unique for Berlin. The grand coalition has been voted out - not yet at the federal level, but that will happen next year," said AfD candidate Georg Pazderski to cheering supporters after the results.
The SPD, Merkel's junior coalition partner at the federal level, wants to form a coalition with the Greens and possibly the radical Left party. However, it was largely local issues that drove the vote in the city of 3.5 million.
The increasingly heated debate about Merkel's migrant policy boosted overall turnout, which jumped to 66 percent, up 6 points from the last election in 2011, according to broadcaster ARD. This was the highest turnout in Berlin since 2001.  Disillusionment is high over the capital's notoriously inefficient bureaucracy and issues such as years of delays in opening its new airport.
Peter Tauber, the Christian Democrats' general secretary, blamed Social Democratic mayor Michael Mueller for turning voters against the two governing parties, saying "the fish stinks from the head".
Mr Mueller, however, said after the results that "we have achieved our goal".
"We are the strongest political party and we have a mandate to form a government," he said.
Without enough support for the governing SPD-CDU "grand coalition" to continue, the most likely new governing alliance appeared to be a combination of the SPD, Greens and Left party.
Such a configuration "is not a good perspective for Berlin" Mr Tauber said on Twitter.