Bundestagswahl: The stage is prepared - Live duel tonight between candidates Merkel and Steinmeier

And Afghanistan is likely to be a major talking point when Foreign Minister Steinmeier goes head to head with Chancellor Angela Merkel in a televised debate tonight, just two weeks before Germany's national elections. The latest opinion polls still give Merkel's conservatives a compelling lead at 35 per cent with Steinmeier's Social Democrats securing less than a quarter of public support. Merkel and Steinmeier have refrained from attacking each other so far, but that may change tonight: