This is the first book in either English or German to analyse the development of Germany's newest political party, the Left Party. It compares and contrasts the party's development with that of Germany's most well-known outsider party - the Greens. It also analyses the party's performance in office in two eastern German La;nder. Finally, the book also puts the merger between the PDS and the WASG under the microscope before speculating on the party's future prospects.