Free Republic

Kieran Murray and Alistair Bell MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's presidential election is too close to call between a leftist anti-poverty campaigner and the conservative ruling party candidate locked in a tie, a respected exit poll said on Sunday. The extremely close vote raised fears of a political crisis if any of the main candidates challenge the results and call street protests. Pre-election polls had showed Felipe Calderon of the ruling party and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the left-wing former mayor of Mexico City, in a virtual tie. Exit polls from Mexico's two main television station and the El Universal...

Germany's centre-right Christian Democrats, led by Angela Merkel, have failed to win a governing majority in Sunday's election, exit polls suggest. They indicate that the Christian Democrats will be the largest party in what is likely to be a hung parliament. Ms Merkel - who wants to introduce far-reaching reforms to revive a flagging economy - said she had a "clear mandate" to govern. But she could be forced into a grand coalition with the Social Democrats. Germany's ARD television puts with Christian Democrats in the lead with 36% of the vote - much worse than expected. Their preferred coalition...