Could an author of children's books or a former trampolinist succeed Angela Merkel as chancellor of Germany? Either is possible, and both are from the ecologist Greens.

A Greens chancellor is still only an outside chance after a Sept. 26 federal election, but the party has grown into a formidable force that is just a few points behind Angela Merkel's conservatives, who have ruled for 16 years.

With the conservatives at odds over who they want to replace Merkel, who is stepping down after the election, the Greens see a chance to win the chancellery for the first time and to stamp their progressive, ecologist brand on Europe's largest economy.