A dog waits while its owner votes in the North Rhine-Westphalia regional elections in Duesseldorf, western Germany. NRW historically plays a big role in federal politics -- in 2005, a lost vote in the... more 

A dog waits while its owner votes in the North Rhine-Westphalia regional elections in Duesseldorf, western Germany. NRW historically plays a big role in federal politics -- in 2005, a lost vote in the state prompted then chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to call a snap federal election which saw Merkel wrest power from him less