Pitfalls for Merkel as Germany faces 3 elections

Germany is embarking this weekend on an unexpectedly hectic state election season that could deepen the troubles of Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition ahead of a national vote due next year. This was supposed to be a quiet year in Germany's electoral calendar - a relief for Merkel after a vote-packed 2011 brought a series of disasters for her partners in the national government, the pro-business Free Democrats, and ended her own party's six-decade rule in one traditional stronghold. But thanks to regional political maneuvering, Merkel now faces three state elections, rather than the one originally planned. They culminate with a May 13 vote in Germany's most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia. On Sunday, the small, economically depressed western state of Saarland kicks off the voting.