The former East German communist party has made a coalition pact with the Social Democrats in the eastern region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The deal means the former communists, now the Party of Democratic Socialism, should enter a regional government for the first time since German reunification.

The pact has still to be approved by conventions of both parties scheduled for Saturday.

The PDS finished third in September's elections in the Baltic coastal region of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, when the centre-right Christian Democrats lost power.