German conservatives raise spectre of far-left rule ahead of election

FILE PHOTO: A supporter holds a sign, giving a thumbs up for Germany's co-leader and top candidate of the September general elections of the left wing party Die Linke Janine Wissler during an election campaign rally in Munich, Germany, September 17, 2021. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle/File Photo

BERLIN (Reuters) - A shadow is looming over Germany's election: the spectre of the far-left Linke party, heir to the communists who once ruled East Germany, coming in from the political wilderness.

At least, that is what Angela Merkel's conservatives want voters to think. Behind in polls just days before Sunday's vote, her would-be successor is warning that Social Democrats, if victorious, would let the far-left into power.