Junge Welt is one of the most serious and consistently dependable leftist publications in Germany. They have an excellent track record of being on the correct side of historical and contemporary political issues. What sets them apart from other ostensibly "leftist" but more system-compatible media is that they are actually principled anti-imperialists and not socdem euro-chauvinists, and because of this liberals need to smear them by association with the DDR (though for me personally as a communist that is a badge of honor and only serves to reinforce their credibility and their anti-imperialist credentials).