31.   The former communists, who are waning in popularity, hope to minimize the political damage.

32.   The former communists have been an unofficial coalition partner with the Social Democrats in Saxony-Anhalt for the past four years.

33.   The former communists, now called the Party of Democratic Socialism, are gaining strength in the east.

34.   The new government is a coalition of rightist parties, former communists and Hungarians.

35.   The move will allow the former communists to form a government but could force them to pay homage to nationalistic and anti-European groups.

36.   The trial of Gen. Wladyslaw Ciaston and Gen. Zenon Platek was seen here as a test case for bringing former communists to account for past repressions.

37.   They turned to the former communists -- now the Party of Democratic Socialism -- who nearly doubled their number of parliamentary seats.

38.   This is no bland bunch of social democrats like the former communists now rehabilitating themselves around Eastern Europe.

39.   To show that he was still someone to be reckoned with, Berisha, a former communist, suddenly appeared Wednesday afternoon at a rare news conference.

40.   Unlike Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and other countries in the region, the Czech Republic has little worry of former communists re-taking power.