In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative party Christian Democrats, CDU has defeated the center-left Social Democrats, SPD in elections in northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. The gives rise to hopes that Merkel could win national elections to be held in September and stay in power for a fourth consecutive term. Merkel's CDU fetched 33 percent of the votes in Schleswig-Holstein, up from 30.8 percent in the last election in 2012.