The regional parliament in the German state of Hesse dissolved itself on Wednesday, clearing the way for early general elections in January, according to dpa. All five parties represented in the 110-member legislature voted in favour of the move. The state has been ruled by a caretaker government headed by conservative Prime Minister Roland Koch since inconclusive elections in January 2008. Opposition Social Democrat (SPD) leader Andrea Ypsilanti tried twice to unseat Koch by forming an alliance with the environmentalist Greens, backed by the tacit support of the radical Left party. But on both occasions the move was torpedoed by dissidents within her own party who objected to coopering with the Left, a collection of former east German communists and disaffected Social Democrats.
