Left Party

The SPD must share the left-leaning vote with the Greens and with the ex-communist Left Party, with which it refuses to govern.

Rather than join with the Left party and Greens, the SPD decided to open grand-coalition talks with the CDU.

The rise of a center-left party promising to soothe the pain of globalization is being seen as a major break with business as usual.

Turnout in September may be 30 points higher, bringing back traditional supporters of the SPD (and of the ex-communist Left Party).

The Left Party could displace the CDU as the Social Democrats' governing partner in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

In 2013 it could yet return to power at the head of a left-wing coalition that includes the Left Party and the Greens.

The SPD has little prospect of translating state triumphs to the federal level now, because it rules out a coalition with the Left Party.

The head of Thuringia's SPD could not bring himself to work with the Left Party.

But it looks unlikely, unless the SPD takes the risk of including the ex-communist Left Party in a coalition.

Oskar Lafontaine, leader of Germany's Left Party and scourge of the political mainstream, announced his retirement.

Bashing the Left Party embarrasses the SPD without precluding a revival of the grand coalition after the federal election if need be.

Similarly, in Panama the ruling centre-left Party of the Democratic Revolution should retain power.

The centre-left Party of European Socialists (PES) unites ex-communists from eastern Europe with Nordic social democrats.

But so did the main centre-left party: the big winners were parties even further to the left.

The Agenda 2010 reforms tested that tolerance, alienating the SPD's core supporters and fuelling the rise of the ex-communist Left Party.

German voters confirmed their swing left when they returned the Left Party to the state parliament in Hamburg.

The SPD rules out co-operating with the Left Party at national level, limiting its coalition options.

Llamazares, former leader of the United Left party, was elected to Spain's parliament in 2000.

Neither the SPD nor the Greens are keen on the Left Party, whose NRW branch includes professed communists.

The Left Party, a new party formed by the ex-communists and some left-wing defectors from the SPD, is luring away traditional supporters.

This past week the government was able to garner the necessary votes and support in spite of the Left Party's opposition.

Only the ex-communist Left Party is demanding an immediate pullout.

In this weekend's poll the Left Party may get 15% of the vote, almost double its best previous result in the west.

The winners were the smaller parties, notably the Left Party and the Free Democrats.

The gainers were the three smaller opposition parties: the FDP, the Greens and the ex-communist Left Party.

The SPD says it will not govern with the ex-communist Left Party.

He is as polarising within the Left Party as outside it.

In elections the east leans towards the ex-communist Left Party.

The idea is "an illusion, " she says, in part because the Greens much prefer to govern with the SPD and even the Left Party.

Mr Lafontaine formed the Left Party after quitting the Social Democrats in 2005.

Ms Sahlin's alliance with the Greens and the Left party has been fractious.

Coalition building in Thuringia will be messy because the SPD and the Greens will not accept a Left Party premier.

The rise of the Left Party makes it more difficult for traditional coalitions such as CDU-FDP to build majorities in the Bundestag.

and the ex-communist Left Party, which enters NRW's legislature for the first time.

Chen Mingzheng (first from the left), Party secretary of North China Bureau, saw the workers off, who would leave SiWu for Yemen.

The ex-communist Left Party is a mess.

CEM is the last heavyweight figure the disintegrating Democratic Left Party headed by Ecevit has left