German Chancellor

Merkel said in front of supporters in Aachen on Saturday, that new debt in Germany’s most populous state was higher than in all other German states combined.

“Something’s wrong here,’’ she said, noting that in spite of the fresh debt, the number of children per classroom was higher in North Rhine Westphalia than in any other state in the nation.

Opinion polls have pointed to a very close race between Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and their centre-left Social Democrat (SPD) rivals in the state with 18 million residents.

The SPD currently governs the state in a coalition with the Green Party.

“The CDU is offering something different than the red-green state government,’’ she said, calling on the approximately 1,200 guests to vote on Sunday.