Merkel's conservatives test new alliance with Greens in German state

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and the environmentalist Green Party have inked a deal to rule the central state of Hesse that includes the country's financial capital Frankfurt.

The coalition agreement signed Monday is the first between the two traditional political foes in a large German state.

It is seen as a test for a similar coalition at national level in the future.

A pact between Merkel's Christian Democrats and the left-leaning Greens in the city-state of Hamburg collapsed in 2010 after just two years.