German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives lost their absolute majority in Hamburg state elections on Sunday, exit polls showed, confirming a voter swing to the left ahead of national elections in 2009.
Although Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was set to remain the largest single party in the state legislature, its share of the vote fell to 43 percent from 47.2 percent, the exit polls showed.
The Social Democrats (SPD), the CDU's coalition partner at national level, increased their share of the vote to 34 percent from 30.5 percent, while the far-left won seats in the city state's parliament for the first time with 6.5 percent.
As early results became known, the conservatives confirmed that they were ready to enter into an unprecendented coalition with the Greens - on 9.5 percent according to exit polls - to form a government in Hamburg.
"This gives us the possibility to form a coalition either with the Greens or with the Social Democrats," CDU secretary general Roland Pofalla said. "It is a good result that should be celebrated in Hamburg and in Berlin," he added.
The Christian Democrats' setback in the wealthy northern city-state follows severe losses in a state poll in Hesse in January after running a hard-line campaign on crime and immigration.
The elections, along with a third in Lower Saxony last month, were seen as a gauge of Merkel's chances to stem the political swing to the left ahead of the national ballot in 2009. All three state elections have seen the political heirs to the East German communist party, The Left, confirm that it has become a force to be reckoned with in western Germany.
The run-up to the Hamburg election has been dominated by a national debate over whether the established parties dare enter into coalition with The Left. The Social Democrats are torn over tentative plans in Hesse to form a regional government with the support of The Left.