**Germans are set to vote in a national election in which Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a second term.**Mrs Merkel is the favourite, though polls suggest she may no longer have enough support to be able to ditch her Social Democrat coalition partner.
Mrs Merkel’s conservatives are hoping to form a new alliance with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
Security has been tight, after several al-Qaeda messages warning Germany over its role in the war in Afghanistan.
Mrs Merkel’s main rival in Sunday’s vote is the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and current foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The SDP have shared power with Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) in an awkward grand coalition since the last elections in 2005.
‘Fighting for jobs’
Opinion polls suggest Mrs Merkel’s lead has narrowed in recent weeks, though the BBC’s Jonny Dymond in Berlin says there is little doubt that she will be returned as leader of the largest party and as chancellor.
“A centre-right coalition like Frau Merkel wants will take us backwards to the 1990s”
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
Social Democrat candidate
The big question, he says, is whether she will be able to team up with the small FDP to create a coalition that could push through economic reforms.
One in four voters were still said to be undecided on the eve of the vote.
In their final campaign rallies both candidates spoke of the economic challenges facing Germany as they made a last appeal for votes.
In a speech to supporters in Berlin, Mrs Merkel said her party was “fighting for the German jobs of the future”.
“We are the only party in Germany to govern the economy sensibly,” she said.
“Voters will decide tomorrow how quickly we get out of this crisis.”
She also warned that stability could only come from an alliance between the CDU and the FDP.
“Tomorrow, what’s important is to give the CDU the strength to form a government with a new constellation, one in which we are strong because we’re the only party that truly represents the middle in our society,” she said on Saturday.
‘Conservatives nervous’
Correspondents say Mrs Merkel remains personally popular and has won plaudits for steady leadership during the economic downturn.
But Mr Steinmeier said that with the CDU support apparently ebbing, the race remained “wide open”.
“The conservatives are getting increasingly nervous,” he told supporters in the eastern city of Dresden.
“They’re thinking about the opinion polls and how the lead they had is melting like ice cream in the sun.”
He also warned that voting for a centre-right government would mean favouring the interests of business over those of the poor.
“A centre-right coalition like Frau Merkel wants will take us backwards to the 1990s - with a few people at the top getting tax cuts but the vast majority of us getting squeezed,” he said.
“Help us to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
The campaign has been overshadowed by security concerns following a series of al-Qaeda messages warning Germany to pull some 4,200 troops out of Afghanistan.
All flights have been banned over the traditional Oktoberfest in Munich, and armed police are guarding airports, train stations and city centres across the country.