German second party in poll crash

The SPD must consider how to bounce back fast in election year

Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) has suffered a major setback in a key election in the state of Hesse, at the start of a general election year.

Support for the party - the junior coalition partner in the federal government - fell by almost 13 percentage points to less than 24%.

The Christian Democrats (CDU) are set to retain control of the state assembly in a coalition with the Free Democrats.

It is the first of a series of polls before September's general election.

In that vote, Chancellor Angela Merkel will lead the CDU against the SPD, which is likely to be led by her Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Hesse includes Germany's financial hub, Frankfurt.

The liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) made major gains in the state vote, scoring 16.2% - a leap of 6.8 percentage points - after campaigning for bigger tax cuts in the face of a predicted deep recession.