The US state of Virginia prepared to vote Tuesday for its next governor in a margin-of-error skirmish seen as the first major test of President Joe Biden's political brand.

A harbinger of the parties' prospects in next year's midterm elections, the race between Democratic former governor Terry McAuliffe and Republican tycoon Glenn Youngkin has narrowed in recent weeks and is squarely in toss-up territory.&nbsp;

"At this point, the outcome of this race will all depend on voter turnout," McAuliffe said in an 11th hour mailout to voters late Monday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/obama-warns-of-republican-threat-to-democracy-in-us-battleground-virginia-423393">Obama warns of Republican threat to democracy in US battleground Virginia</a>

"Republicans are fired up to elect their guy, and now, with <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> rallying up his base of right-wing extremists on the eve of election day, Glenn Youngkin is sure to have a strong showing tomorrow."

A McAuliffe win would reignite Washington Democrats' faltering push for twin infrastructure and social welfare mega-bills that are the cornerstone of Biden's $3 trillion vision for remaking the economy.

With both packages bogged down by infighting in Congress, moderates would likely see defeat in Virginia as a warning from the electorate to ease up on the president's historic spending plans.&nbsp;

On the Republican side, defeat for Youngkin could finally touch off a reckoning of a different sort on the party's previously unshakeable fealty to twice-impeached Trump, who lost Virginia by 10 points.

'Left, liberal, progressive'&nbsp;

As he tries to mount a return to an office he held four years ago, McAuliffe must negotiate significant headwinds, with the majority party in Washington usually incurring losses during a president's first term. &nbsp; &nbsp;

Youngkin has been performing his own high-wire act, as the vast majority of Republicans believe Trump's false claims that the presidency was stolen in a fraudulent election, making acknowledging the truth politically risky.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/as-trump-thunders-about-last-election-republicans-worry-about-the-next-one-421889">As Trump thunders about last election, Republicans worry about the next one</a>

&nbsp;

While he was seeking the nomination, Youngkin conjured the spirit of the former president, refusing to say whether he would have voted to certify Biden's election victory after the failed insurrection by Trump supporters on January 6.

But the wealthy former investment banker, 54, has managed to distance himself from Trump at the business end of the campaign, focusing on local "culture war" issues like abortion, mask mandates and the teaching of America's racial history.&nbsp;

"This is a moment for Virginians to push back on this left, liberal, progressive agenda and take our commonwealth back," Youngkin told a rally in state capital Richmond on Monday.

Trump has not shown up to campaign in person, although he has angrily denied a rift with Youngkin and released an incendiary statement on Monday smearing McAuliffe as a "low-life politician who lies, cheats, and steals."

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-unveils-crackdown-on-methan">US unveils crackdown on methane, starting with oil and gas rules</a>

In contrast, a number of other big-name Democrats have wooed Virginians in recent days, including former president Barack Obama, First Lady Jill Biden and the party's rising star Stacey Abrams.

'Soccer dad'&nbsp;

McAuliffe took an early lead in the race but his seven-point cushion has been tightening since summer, and the latest polling average by political analysis website FiveThirtyEight shows Youngkin ahead by one point.

If the polls are an accurate reflection of voter intention, experts believe it could take days to determine the winner.&nbsp;

Leaning into his image as the establishment candidate, McAuliffe has sold himself as a former incumbent who brought back jobs after the worldwide financial crisis of 2008, and has pledged to repeat the trick for the pandemic.

The 64-year-old has sought to nationalize the race -- voicing irritation over deadlock in Washington and making the vote a referendum on Trump and Trumpism.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-nuke-sniffer-plan">US 'nuke sniffer' plane flies over South China Sea: Report</a>

Biden joined McAuliffe in Arlington last week, blasting Youngkin as "an acolyte of Donald Trump" and warning that extremism "can come in a smile and a fleece vest."

Mark Bayer, a congressional aide for two decades and a former chief of staff to Senator Ed Markey, warned that convincing Virginians that Youngkin is nothing more than a Trump mini-me could prove a tall order.

"Despite being endorsed by Trump and making strongly positive statements about him, Youngkin -- at least stylistically, if not politically -- doesn't appear to be a Trump clone," Bayer told AFP.

"Youngkin's 'soccer dad' persona is appealing to swing voters, even as his conservative politics are firmly Republican."

The US state of Virginia prepared to vote Tuesday for its next governor in a margin-of-error skirmish seen as the first major test of President Joe Biden's political brand.

The US state of Virginia prepared to vote Tuesday for its next governor in a margin-of-error skirmish seen as the first major test of President Joe Biden's political brand. A harbinger of the parties' prospects in next year's midterm elections, the race between Democratic former governor Terry McAuliffe and Republican tycoon Glenn Youngkin has narrowed in recent weeks and is squarely in toss-up territory. "At this point, the outcome of this race will all depend on voter turnout," McAuliffe said in an 11th hour mailout to voters late Monday. Also Read | Obama warns of Republican threat to democracy in US battleground Virginia "Republicans are fired up to elect their guy, and now, with Donald Trump rallying up his base of right-wing extremists on the eve of election day, Glenn Youngkin is sure to have a strong showing tomorrow." A McAuliffe win would reignite Washington Democrats' faltering push for twin infrastructure and social welfare mega-bills that are the cornerstone of Biden's $3 trillion vision for remaking the economy. With both packages bogged down by infighting in Congress, moderates would likely see defeat in Virginia as a warning from the electorate to ease up on the president's historic spending plans. On the Republican side, defeat for Youngkin could finally touch off a reckoning of a different sort on the party's previously unshakeable fealty to twice-impeached Trump, who lost Virginia by 10 points. 'Left, liberal, progressive' As he tries to mount a return to an office he held four years ago, McAuliffe must negotiate significant headwinds, with the majority party in Washington usually incurring losses during a president's first term. Youngkin has been performing his own high-wire act, as the vast majority of Republicans believe Trump's false claims that the presidency was stolen in a fraudulent election, making acknowledging the truth politically risky. Also Read | As Trump thunders about last election, Republicans worry about the next one While he was seeking the nomination, Youngkin conjured the spirit of the former president, refusing to say whether he would have voted to certify Biden's election victory after the failed insurrection by Trump supporters on January 6. But the wealthy former investment banker, 54, has managed to distance himself from Trump at the business end of the campaign, focusing on local "culture war" issues like abortion, mask mandates and the teaching of America's racial history. "This is a moment for Virginians to push back on this left, liberal, progressive agenda and take our commonwealth back," Youngkin told a rally in state capital Richmond on Monday. Trump has not shown up to campaign in person, although he has angrily denied a rift with Youngkin and released an incendiary statement on Monday smearing McAuliffe as a "low-life politician who lies, cheats, and steals." Also Read | US unveils crackdown on methane, starting with oil and gas rules In contrast, a number of other big-name Democrats have wooed Virginians in recent days, including former president Barack Obama, First Lady Jill Biden and the party's rising star Stacey Abrams. 'Soccer dad' McAuliffe took an early lead in the race but his seven-point cushion has been tightening since summer, and the latest polling average by political analysis website FiveThirtyEight shows Youngkin ahead by one point. If the polls are an accurate reflection of voter intention, experts believe it could take days to determine the winner. Leaning into his image as the establishment candidate, McAuliffe has sold himself as a former incumbent who brought back jobs after the worldwide financial crisis of 2008, and has pledged to repeat the trick for the pandemic. The 64-year-old has sought to nationalize the race -- voicing irritation over deadlock in Washington and making the vote a referendum on Trump and Trumpism. Also Read | US 'nuke sniffer' plane flies over South China Sea: Report Biden joined McAuliffe in Arlington last week, blasting Youngkin as "an acolyte of Donald Trump" and warning that extremism "can come in a smile and a fleece vest." Mark Bayer, a congressional aide for two decades and a former chief of staff to Senator Ed Markey, warned that convincing Virginians that Youngkin is nothing more than a Trump mini-me could prove a tall order. "Despite being endorsed by Trump and making strongly positive statements about him, Youngkin -- at least stylistically, if not politically -- doesn't appear to be a Trump clone," Bayer told AFP. "Youngkin's 'soccer dad' persona is appealing to swing voters, even as his conservative politics are firmly Republican."

Virginia goes to polls in too-close-to call bellwether election

German political parties will hold exploratory talks from Sunday as they jostle to form the next government after a close election, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) battling Angela Merkel's conservatives for the chancellery.

The SPD and its candidate Olaf Scholz narrowly won last week's vote on 25.7 percent, with Merkel's CDU-CSU alliance plunging to an all-time low of 24.1 percent as she prepares to leave the stage after 16 years in power.

The result leaves the SPD in pole position to form a government, but conservative leader Armin Laschet has also vowed to begin coalition talks in a last-ditch effort to keep the ailing CDU-CSU in power.

In the complex calculations for a coalition, the makeup of the next German government essentially hinges on which of the two parties can persuade the Greens and the liberal FDP to sign up for a partnership.

First up in what Der Spiegel magazine has described as the "poker game for power" is the SPD, which will huddle with the FDP on Sunday afternoon and the Greens in the evening.

Their rivals, the CDU-CSU, will meet with the FDP on Sunday evening and the Greens on Tuesday.

'Historic defeat'

In a poll for the ZDF broadcaster on Friday, 59 percent of respondents said they were in favour of an SPD-Greens-FDP coalition, also known as the "traffic-light" combination after the parties' colours.

Only 24 percent said they would prefer the combination led by the CDU, a coalition known as "Jamaica" after the colours of that country's flag.

Some 76 percent said they thought Scholz should be the next German chancellor, with just 13 percent backing Laschet.

In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine Friday, Scholz said it was "clear from every poll that people don't want the (CDU-CSU) to be part of the next government".

"The election result is clear. The CDU and CSU have suffered a historic defeat and have been voted out," he said.

But the conservatives are not giving up, with Markus Blume, general secretary of the CSU, insisting on Friday that "Jamaica has a chance".

The CSU, the smaller Bavarian partner in the conservative alliance, had provoked consternation earlier in the week by conceding that Scholz had won the election and should be first in the queue to form a government.

- Secret selfie -

The stance broke ranks with Laschet, who at that point had not publicly congratulated Scholz and had claimed "no party" -- not even the SPD -- could claim a mandate to govern from the vote outcome.

Laschet has faced a barrage of criticism over his election performance and his refusal to admit defeat, including calls to resign from within his own party -- but has so far given no indication that he plans to do so.

With the SPD and the conservatives scrambling for the affections of the Greens and the FDP, the smaller parties find themselves in an outsize position of power as potential kingmakers.

"For now, Greens and FDP are in the driver's seat," said Holger Schmieding, an analyst for the Berenberg bank.

The two parties have aready held two sounding-out sessions, with their leaders posting a much-shared selfie on social media in a show of unity after a secret gathering on Tuesday.

But it remains to be seen "whether they can really choose between traffic light and Jamaica, and the extent to which they can shape the agenda", Schmieding said.

The two smaller parties are not natural bedfellows, diverging on issues like tax hikes and public investment in climate protection.

After Germany's last election in 2017, the FDP dramatically walked out of negotiations with the CDU-CSU and the Greens, with leader Christian Lindner declaring it was "better not to govern at all than to govern badly".

German political parties will hold exploratory talks from Sunday as they jostle to form the next government after a close election, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) battling Angela Merkel's conservatives for the chancellery.

German political parties will hold exploratory talks from Sunday as they jostle to form the next government after a close election, with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) battling Angela Merkel's conservatives for the chancellery. The SPD and its candidate Olaf Scholz narrowly won last week's vote on 25.7 percent, with Merkel's CDU-CSU alliance plunging to an all-time low of 24.1 percent as she prepares to leave the stage after 16 years in power. The result leaves the SPD in pole position to form a government, but conservative leader Armin Laschet has also vowed to begin coalition talks in a last-ditch effort to keep the ailing CDU-CSU in power. In the complex calculations for a coalition, the makeup of the next German government essentially hinges on which of the two parties can persuade the Greens and the liberal FDP to sign up for a partnership. First up in what Der Spiegel magazine has described as the "poker game for power" is the SPD, which will huddle with the FDP on Sunday afternoon and the Greens in the evening. Their rivals, the CDU-CSU, will meet with the FDP on Sunday evening and the Greens on Tuesday. 'Historic defeat' In a poll for the ZDF broadcaster on Friday, 59 percent of respondents said they were in favour of an SPD-Greens-FDP coalition, also known as the "traffic-light" combination after the parties' colours. Only 24 percent said they would prefer the combination led by the CDU, a coalition known as "Jamaica" after the colours of that country's flag. Some 76 percent said they thought Scholz should be the next German chancellor, with just 13 percent backing Laschet. In an interview with Der Spiegel magazine Friday, Scholz said it was "clear from every poll that people don't want the (CDU-CSU) to be part of the next government". "The election result is clear. The CDU and CSU have suffered a historic defeat and have been voted out," he said. But the conservatives are not giving up, with Markus Blume, general secretary of the CSU, insisting on Friday that "Jamaica has a chance". The CSU, the smaller Bavarian partner in the conservative alliance, had provoked consternation earlier in the week by conceding that Scholz had won the election and should be first in the queue to form a government. - Secret selfie - The stance broke ranks with Laschet, who at that point had not publicly congratulated Scholz and had claimed "no party" -- not even the SPD -- could claim a mandate to govern from the vote outcome. Laschet has faced a barrage of criticism over his election performance and his refusal to admit defeat, including calls to resign from within his own party -- but has so far given no indication that he plans to do so. With the SPD and the conservatives scrambling for the affections of the Greens and the FDP, the smaller parties find themselves in an outsize position of power as potential kingmakers. "For now, Greens and FDP are in the driver's seat," said Holger Schmieding, an analyst for the Berenberg bank. The two parties have aready held two sounding-out sessions, with their leaders posting a much-shared selfie on social media in a show of unity after a secret gathering on Tuesday. But it remains to be seen "whether they can really choose between traffic light and Jamaica, and the extent to which they can shape the agenda", Schmieding said. The two smaller parties are not natural bedfellows, diverging on issues like tax hikes and public investment in climate protection. After Germany's last election in 2017, the FDP dramatically walked out of negotiations with the CDU-CSU and the Greens, with leader Christian Lindner declaring it was "better not to govern at all than to govern badly".

German parties meet as coalition haggling begins

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday he will not run for vice president in 2022 and will retire from politics, potentially paving the way for his daughter to contest the country's highest office.

"The overwhelming&nbsp;sentiment of the Filipinos is that I am not qualified and it would be a violation of the constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the constitution" to run for the vice presidency, Duterte said.&nbsp;

"Today I announce my retirement from politics."

Duterte, who polls show remains almost as popular as when he was swept to victory in 2016 on a promise to rid the country of drugs, is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term.

The authoritarian firebrand declared in August he would contest the vice presidency in the next election - a move critics said was a smokescreen and motivated by fear that could face criminal charges after leaving office.

Duterte made the surprise announcement at the venue where he was expected to register his candidacy. He did not specify when he would leave politics.

The tough-talking leader has not yet announced his preferred successor, but many expect it will be his daughter, Sara, who has been the front runner in recent polls.

She would likely protect Duterte from criminal charges in the Philippines, and International Criminal Court prosecutors probing his deadly drug war, which rights groups estimate has killed tens of thousands of people.

But the mayor of the southern city of Davao - a position held by her father before he became president - has said she would not run if Duterte sought the vice presidency.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday he will not run for vice president in 2022 and will retire from politics, potentially paving the way for his daughter to contest the country's highest office.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday he will not run for vice president in 2022 and will retire from politics, potentially paving the way for his daughter to contest the country's highest office. "The overwhelming sentiment of the Filipinos is that I am not qualified and it would be a violation of the constitution to circumvent the law, the spirit of the constitution" to run for the vice presidency, Duterte said. "Today I announce my retirement from politics." Duterte, who polls show remains almost as popular as when he was swept to victory in 2016 on a promise to rid the country of drugs, is constitutionally barred from seeking a second term. The authoritarian firebrand declared in August he would contest the vice presidency in the next election - a move critics said was a smokescreen and motivated by fear that could face criminal charges after leaving office. Duterte made the surprise announcement at the venue where he was expected to register his candidacy. He did not specify when he would leave politics. The tough-talking leader has not yet announced his preferred successor, but many expect it will be his daughter, Sara, who has been the front runner in recent polls. She would likely protect Duterte from criminal charges in the Philippines, and International Criminal Court prosecutors probing his deadly drug war, which rights groups estimate has killed tens of thousands of people. But the mayor of the southern city of Davao - a position held by her father before he became president - has said she would not run if Duterte sought the vice presidency.

Philippines' Duterte says will retire from politics

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Virginia goes to polls in too-close-to call bellwether election

German parties meet as coalition haggling begins

Philippines' Duterte says will retire from politics