Merkel coalition struggles to keep power in state vote - exit poll

HANOVER (Reuters) - Angela Merkel's conservatives appeared to be struggling to hold onto power in a German state election on Sunday against a centre-left opposition showing it could yet mount a strong challenge to her chancellorship in September national polls. In exit polls released after voting ended, Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) remained the biggest party in the swing state of Lower Saxony with 36 percent. The chief victors of the evening, however, appeared to be their Free Democrat (FDP) allies who defied doomsayers to win 10 percent. ...