Berlin - Germany's struggling Social Democratic Party (SPD) would, if necessary, enter into regional governments with the populist Left Party after state elections set for Sunday, party leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Monday.

The SPD, which is currently in the governing coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, had previously ruled out any cooperation with the Left Party at the federal level, but now has cleared the way for regional so-called "Red-Red" coalitions if election results are favourable.

Germany has a general election on September 27, and Steinmeier's party trails Merkel's badly in opinion polls.

The three state elections - in Saxony, Thuringia, and Saarland - on August 30 are seen as an important barometer for the later vote.

Steinmeier told the Rheinischen Post newspaper that his party "ought to have the desire to be in government," and said that he hoped for a change of fortunes in the regional polls.

At a federal level, the Left Party, which is made up of former SPD members, plus remnants from the East German Communist party that fell from power in 1989. The Left Party advocates, amongst other policies, higher taxes on the rich and a German withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Merkel's Christian Democrats have some 41 per cent support nationally, according to a poll conducted by broadcaster ZDF on August 21. The SPD had 24 per cent, while the Left Party had 7 per cent. (dpa)