Two of Germany's 16 states were on the verge Friday of gaining new premiers, with politicians striking coalition deals to set up new governments in Bavaria and Hesse, reported the dpa. Both moves, which will require confirmation in the states' legislatures, could usher in a more fractious period in the final year of Chancellor Angela Merkel's federal coalition government before September 2009 elections. The two state coalitions are likely to be viewed by voters as test subjects for the next federal government. After months of political manoeuvring, a Social Democratic (SPD) leader, Andrea Ypsilanti, 51, unveiled details of her bid to topple a conservative incumbent, Roland Koch, and seize the premiership of Hesse. She said she would invite legislators to elect her as premier on November 4, leading a minority coalition government with the Greens and counting on the votes of the Left party. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) immediately accused Ypsilanti of breaking a pre-election promise not to ally with the Left, which embraces former East German communists and western leftists. In the state capital of Wiesbaden, Ypsilanti unveiled details of a coalition agreement with leaders of the environmentalist Greens party. They would promote investment in renewable energy and delay the expansion of Frankfurt's airport. Koch narrowly lost a state legislative election nine months ago. As caretaker premier since, he has sought to weaken the three competing parties which oppose him and has criticized their plans for a loose alliance to vote him out of office. Just two legislators breaking ranks could thwart Ypsilanti's ambitions. She would not be Germany's first woman state premier, but follows in the Social Democratic footsteps of Heide Simonis, who ran the state of Schleswig-Holstein from 1993 till 2005. Ypsilanti said her government would comprise 10 Social Democrat ministers and two Greens, including the Greens leader Tarek Al-Wazir as environment minister. --More
