German election LATEST: Turnout expected to be high and AfD could be biggest opposition

But rain and winds are unlikely to put off the supporters of the right/wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) supporters determined to punish for her open-door refugee policy.  

Turnout is expected to be high.

The latest poll shows them at nearly 13 per cent – a figure which translates to sending close to 100 lawmakers into parliament and making it the biggest opposition party.

Mrs Merkel is poised to win power for a fourth time today SUN although she will pay a high price for allowing in over one million unchecked refugees from war torn lands.

Both she and her centre-left SPD party rival Martin Schulz rallied voters on the eve of Sunday’s vote, urging Germans to shun the AfD.

Mrs Merkel, the clear frontrunner after 12 years in power with a double-digit lead, also told her conservative base not to get “complacent” and urging them to vote to “bring home the bacon”.

The realisation that a hard-right anti immigrant, anti-Muslim party is poised for a role on the national stage  is sending shockwaves across Europe.  

On Sunday the International Auschwitz Committee warned that the “conglomerate of anti-Semites, enemies of democracy and nationalistic agitators will bring an inhuman coldness” to the Reichstag in Berlin, the national parliament.

It’s fears were echoed by current foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel, also a Social Democrat, who warned on the eve of polling day that “for the first time since the end of the Second World War, real Nazis will sit in the German parliament”.

Mrs Merkel is still however predicted to be the victor in today’s poll – but at least 15 per cent of the 61.5 million eligible voters still have to make up their minds.

The world’s most powerful woman has faced flying tomatoes, cries of “traitor” and “go back to your Muslims” on the campaign trail.

The SPD is trailing dismally in the polls after playing second fiddle to Mrs Merkel’s conservatives in a coalition government for the last five years. Many supporters believe it needs a period in the wilderness to reconnect with its supporters rather than governing again.

If the numbers crunch the right way Mrs Merkel could end up forming a government with the pro-business liberal FDP party and the Greens.

A total of 29.8 million men and 31.7 million women will decide the future of Germany today. Close to 700,000 helpers from all parties are on the streets getting them out to vote.

Mrs Merkel is polling 36 percent of the vote and victory is all but assured.  

But some have taken to calling her Frankenstein because she has created the monster that is the AfD which will be in parliament with her.