Die Linke takes Thuringia governorship

(ANSA) - Berlin, December 5 - Die Linke (The Left) leader Bodo Ramelow was elected governor of Thuringia Friday, marking the first time the leftwing party has taken the leadership of a region in Germany.
    Ramelow was elected in a run-off ballot in which he received the necessary 46 votes after failing to be elected outright in the first round by one vote.
    Thuringia will be governed by a coalition of Die Linke, Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens.
    German President Joachim Gauck had spoken out against Die Linke entering government, denouncing what he said is its continuity with the Communist Party that ruled the German Democratic Republic (GDR) before the fall of the Berlin Wall.