Fresh blow to Merkel coalition as parties lose support in German state vote

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and their Social Democrat (SPD) coalition allies in Berlin both haemorrhaged support in a regional election in the western state of Hesse on Sunday, dealing a fresh blow to the fragile national government.

Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) came home first but polled just 28 percent of the vote, an exit poll for broadcaster ARD showed. That marked a huge drop from the 38.3 percent the CDU won at the last Hesse election, in 2013.

"We are in pain because of the losses but we also learnt that it is worth it to fight," a smiling Volker Bouffier, the incumbent CDU state premier in Hesse and a Merkel ally, told supporters.

"The message to the parties ruling in Berlin is: People want fewer disputes and more focus on the important issues," he said

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