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First German governor from ex-communist party?
Associated Press ^ | Sep 12, 2014 9:11 AM EDT | Geir Moulson

Posted on 09/12/2014 7:54:41 AM PDT by Olog-hai

A quarter-century after the Berlin Wall crumbled, an election this weekend may show whether Germany is ready for its first state governor from the party descended from East Germany’s communist rulers.

The opposition Left Party hopes to end the 24-year grip of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives on the governor's office in eastern Thuringia state Sunday.

While his party emerged from the old communist guard, Left Party candidate Bodo Ramelow is anything but a throwback to Soviet times. The 58-year-old, a practicing Protestant and West German native, went east when Germany reunited in 1990 as a labor union official and later joined the Left Party’s ex-communist predecessor. […]

Still, his rise shows how unease over the party’s communist-era heritage has dimmed over the years. Memories of communist rule have faded and the Left Party itself, though it remains strongest and best-organized in the east, has evolved into a modern nationwide political force that embraces views from the hard to moderate left. …

(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Germany; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bodoramelow; dielinke; eastgermany; thuringia

1 posted on 09/12/2014 7:54:42 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: Olog-hai

Hell....We beat that...One of our “illustrious” senators headed the KKK.


2 posted on 09/12/2014 7:56:41 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: Sacajaweau

Merkel is a Conservative?


3 posted on 09/12/2014 7:57:59 AM PDT by stocksthatgoup (Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldnÂ’t make any sense at all." -- Pres. Reagan)
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To: stocksthatgoup
Not really possible when one’s political party has the word “Democrat” in it. Just that the Social Democrats and the Left Party (fka the East German Communist Party) are further left than they.
4 posted on 09/12/2014 11:00:52 AM PDT by Olog-hai
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To: stocksthatgoup

Good question.


5 posted on 09/12/2014 2:52:01 PM PDT by OldNewYork
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To: Olog-hai

Yes, AP, he’s exactly a throwback to old Soviet times.


6 posted on 09/12/2014 4:00:06 PM PDT by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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