Munich  - The premier of Bavaria, Guenther Beckstein, announced Wednesday he would step down, making him the second casualty of a disastrous election setback for his conservative party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

On Tuesday, the CSU leader, Erwin Huber, was the first to say he would leave. The CSU had elected the two men to their posts a year ago.

Beckstein said at a brief news conference he would not be available to lead the planned coalition government in the state, because he lacked the "necessary degree of support" within the CSU.

The CSU, which had ruled the German state solo for more the four decades and is a key party in Chancellor Angela Merkel's federal coalition, lost nearly one third of its voter support on Sunday. (dpa)