Left Party politician Bodo Ramelow has been chosen as premier by the parliament in the eastern German state of Thuringia. The state now has the first socialist-led government in Germany since reunification in 1990. The state parliament of the eastern German state of Thuringia on Friday elected Bodo Ramelow to head a left-leaning coalition consisting of his Left Party, the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens. A former trade unionist from western Germany, Ramelow has become the first member of his party to become premier of a state.
Ramelow’s election was expected, although the coalition won only the slim majority of one parliamentary seat at polls in September. He won the post in a second round having failed to garner the necessary votes in the first.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) won the most seats at the September elections, but were unable to forge a coalition to give them the absolute majority needed to govern. The CDU has headed every government in the state since German reunification in 1990.
Full Article: Thuringia elects first ever Left Party state premier.