Left of Left

They could potentially be kingmakers and help Andrea Ypsilanti, the chairwoman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the western German state of Hesse, get a majority after a closely contested election in which incumbent Roland Koch's Christian Democratic Party (CDU) won the vote by a wafer-thin margin.

But the Left party remains an unwanted child in the German political landscape. Though the far-left party is now represented in two state parliaments in western Germany, Ypsilanti has vowed she will not form a government with them. And all established parties in Germany -- whether on the left or right of center -- shun the group.

Left party seen as Communist relic

For many western Germans, the Left party is still a relic of former communist East Germany, according to Tim Spier, a political scientist at the Institute for Party Law and Research at the University of Düsseldorf.

Forged from the debris of the east German ruling party after reunification in 1990 and known then as the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), the Left party reached its present incarnation last year when it was joined by a stream of trade unionists, discontented westerners and Social Democratic Party members unhappy with former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's package of far-reaching social security and labor market reforms.

The origins of the western side of the party as a splinter movement within the Social Democratic family have left deep wounds. While the SPD and the Left party rule together in the city-state of Berlin and have at times cooperated in eastern German states, the Social Democrats refuse to consider a so-called "red-red" coalition in a western state, let alone at the federal level.

"It has to be said that in Germany, a part of the Left still continues in the tradition of the PDS and the additional problem is that we have a remnant of the SED [the former East German ruling party] there," said Spier. "West Germans have a problem accepting that."

Far-left parties in Europe enjoy support

The situation is distinctly different in other parts of Europe where parties left of Social Democracy are often part of the mainstream political establishment. In France, Sweden and Italy, for instance, such parties have been part of national governments.

"In the 1970s there was a long period where many traditional communist parties were much more successful than other parties -- for instance in France," Spier said.

Far-left parties in western Europe may have emerged from different ideological traditions and have heterogeneous historical roots.

"But they can still be considered as part of a larger family of parties," said Spier.

A large chunk of these far-left parties were former communist parties who reinvented themselves after the end of the Cold War. Others broke away from the Communists much earlier, formed Maoist splinter groups to an extent, and finally evolved into moderate left-wing groups.

The most successful far-left party in Europe is the Socialist Party in the Netherlands.

"They took 16.6 percent of the vote in the last parliamentary election," Spier said.

Far-left parties are also well-established in Scandinavia, where they enjoy considerable support among voters -- around 10 percent. For instance, Denmark's Socialist People's Party, Norway's Socialist Left Party, Sweden's Left Party and Finland's Left Alliance are all far-left parties but represent a more ecological and social stance.

Far-left parties in Italy and France too enjoy popular support. "Though these parties present a significantly moderate face, their rhetoric and their names betray their communist legacy," said Spier.

Reform-friendly Social Democrats helped rise of far-left

In Germany, there was no serious force left of the Social Democrats and the Green party for a long time. The Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was relatively strong during the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1933 but was later banned in the 1950s. The newly formed German Communist Party (DKP) didn't manage to overcome its status as a splinter group. It was only with reunification in 1990 and the transformation of the SED into the PDS, that a political force left of the Social Democrats take shape. The party needed until 2005 to become a nation-wide political forced to be reckoned with.

The rise of far-left parties in Europe has largely been thanks to the Social Democrats, in particular what Tony Blair referred to as "new Labour" and Gerhard Schröder the "new center." The move away from traditional, labor-friendly politics has indeed fueled the march of the far-left.

"The Social Democrats who remained traditional, as in the case of France, managed to marginalize far-left parties," said Spier.

On the other hand, those who turned particularly reform-friendly, such as the Social Democrats in Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, have lost large chunks of their traditional voter base to the far-left.

"A real dilemma"

The far-left in some parts of Europe has also made it as far as into national governments -- in France, Sweden, Italy and presently in Norway. But such coalitions have rarely been especially successful.

In 1998, the Social Democratic Party in Sweden entered a coalition with the Left party and the Greens. One result was that support for the far-left quickly eroded.

"We don't regret being part of the coalition, we could certainly air some of our views," said Gudrun Utas of Sweden's Left Party. "But we didn't have positive experiences."

After four years of being part of the government, her far-left party has managed to attract just 5 percent of the vote -- a far cry from their historic high of 12.8 percent in 1998.

"It's a real dilemma," said Spier. "At first, the far-left in Sweden profited from the Social Democrats' move to the center. But once they took on governing responsibilities, the far-left lost its halo -- as well as votes." At the same time, the Social Democrats won the majority it needed to govern thanks to the far-left.

The Swedish example may hold lessons for Andrea Ypsilanti. Depending on the outcome of coalition talks among Hesse's parties, she may yet change her mind and get the Left party on board after all in order to gain that magic majority.