Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - Germans are voting in the coastal state of Lower Saxony in a local election that is a test for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic party amid a deepening energy crisis.

The polls open at 08:00 am (06:00 GMT), while the latest polls indicate a slight lead for the Schulz party (center-left) over the conservative Christian Democratic party of former Chancellor Anguilla Merkel.

Concern about rising energy prices dominated the elections in the northwestern region bordering the North Sea, giving a glimpse into the national mood at a time when Europe's largest economy is reeling from the fallout from Russia's war on Ukraine.

Lower Saxony Prime Minister Stefan Weil, who is widely popular and belongs to the Social Democratic Party, said that the poll was "the most difficult in my life," as he seeks to win a third term.

"I have never seen so many questions and concerns on the faces of citizens," he told the magazine "Wirtschaftwoche".

Weil, 63, portrays himself as a safe haven in times of turmoil and wants Lower Saxony, home to car giant Volkswagen and most of Germany's wind turbines, to play a role in the transition to renewables.

He welcomed a 200-billion-euro ($198 billion) energy fund recently unveiled by Schulz aimed at protecting German consumers from price shocks.

In turn, Weil's main rival, State Minister for Economic Affairs Bernd Althusmann of the Christian Democratic Party, believes that the huge support package lacks clarity. He accuses the federal government of moving too slowly as recession fears mount.

Althausmann, 55, described Sunday's elections as a popular verdict against Schulz's coalition government in Berlin, which includes the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (liberals).

"If the CDU becomes the strongest in Lower Saxony, which is realistic, it will be a serious blow to the already divided federal government," he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

Opinion polls show that the Social Democrats lead in Lower Saxony (31 to 33 percent), followed by the Christian Democrats (27 to 28 percent). The difference between them has increased in recent days.

The victory of the Social Democrats would strengthen their position after they lost in the last two ballots held in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein in favor of the Christian Democrats.

As for the Greens, they are expected to get about 16 percent of the vote, which is their best performance in the state of 6.1 million voters.
Polls indicate that the far-right Alternative for Germany party has about 11 percent of the vote's intentions, nearly double the number of votes it received in the 2017 elections.

As for the Free Democratic Party, it is likely to get about five percent of the vote, which is the threshold it needs to enter the regional parliament.

The fate of the "Emsland" nuclear power plant, located in Lower Saxony, was the most prominent point of contention in the elections, knowing that it is one of the three stations still in service in Germany.

Althausmann reacted angrily to Berlin's decision to proceed with the implementation of the Emsland closure plan this year, despite the urgent need to diversify energy sources at a time when Germany reduces its dependence on Russian gas and oil.

Recently, German Economics Minister Robert Habeck, who belongs to the Greens and is usually opposed to nuclear energy, announced that the other two plants will remain in service until April 2023, in a historic shift in attitudes.

Weil endorsed Berlin's position, pointing out that Emsland was not necessary to guarantee energy supplies in Lower Saxony, although he acknowledged that other regions might face difficulties with the onset of winter.

The two candidates stressed the pivotal role of their states in reducing dependence on Russian energy, pointing to the construction of terminals to import liquefied natural gas in the ports of Stade and Wilhelmshaven.

Although the Social Democrats and Christian Democrats rule jointly in Lower Saxony, Weil ruled out this time the possibility of repeating the experience of forming a coalition of the right and the left.