German state elects reform communist leader in historic shift

(Reuters) - The reform communist Left party took power in a German state on Friday for the first time since reunification, ending a quarter century of conservative rule in Thuringia and raising the chance of a left-wing threat to Angela Merkel in the next federal vote.

The Left, which traces its roots to the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that once ruled East Germany and built the Berlin Wall, will run the state southwest of Berlin with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens in a three-way coalition.

Thuringia voted in September in state elections which produced a close result, leading to protracted negotiations involving four parties. Eventually the three left-leaning parties agreed on a coalition and on Friday the state assembly elected the Left party's Bodo Ramelow, a 58-year-old trade unionist from West Germany, as Thuringia's state premier.

It is the first time these three parties have ruled together in one of Germany's 16 states. If they succeed in Thuringia, they could decide to band together in the next national election in 2017 in an attempt to defeat the chancellor's conservatives.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/12/05/uk-germany-politics-left-vote-idUKKCN0JJ0SH20141205