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The Left (Germany)

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Die Linke
The Left logo
Leader Lothar Bisky
Oskar Lafontaine
Founded June 16, 2007
Headquarters Karl-Liebknecht-Haus
Kl. Alexanderstraße 28
D-10178 Berlin
Political Ideology Democratic socialism
International Affiliation None
European Affiliation Party of the European Left
European Parliament Group European United Left–Nordic Green Left
Colours Red
Website www.die-linke.de
See also Politics of Germany

Political parties
Elections

The Left (German: Die Linke), is a political party in Germany which commits itself to democratic socialism. The Left sees itself at being the most committedly leftist of the five factions represented in the Bundestag.

The party was founded on June 16, 2007, as the merger of Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) – the successor of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED; the ruling party of the communist GDR 1949-1989), and the Labour and Social Justice Electoral Alternative (WASG). Its leaders are Lothar Bisky and Oskar Lafontaine. In the Bundestag the party has 53 out of 612 seats (8,7 %). Internationally, The Left is a member of the Party of the European Left, and is the largest party in the GUE/NGL grouping of the European Parliament.

According to official party figures, the Left Party had 76,139 registered members as of September 30, 2008.[1] The party's parliamentary fraction includes 53 deputies, making it the fourth largest party in the Bundestag.

Contents

[edit] History

The mass protests that forced the dismissal of East German head of state Erich Honecker in 1989 also empowered a younger generation of reform politicians in East Germany's ruling Socialist Unity Party who looked to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika as their model for political change. Reformers like authors Stefan Heym and Christa Wolf and attorney Gregor Gysi and dissidents like Rudolf Bahro soon began to reconstruct the political profile of the party. By the end of 1989, the last hardline members of the party's Central Committee had resigned, followed in 1990 by 95% of the SED's 2.3 million members.

The rump of the SED that remained was renamed as the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) at a special party congress in December 1989, to distance the reformed party from communism. Gregor Gysi became the new leader of the party. Initially, the party was known by the combination initials SED-PDS; this was dropped on February 4, 1990, after which the party was officially known as the PDS. By early 1990, the PDS was no longer a Marxist-Leninist party, though neo-marxist and communist minority factions continued to exist. On March 18, 1990, the PDS won 16.4% of the vote in the first free elections in the GDR, with the Alliance for Germany coalition, led by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), winning 48%.

Gregor Gysi

[edit] Up to 2005

In the first all-German Bundestag elections in 1990, the PDS won only 2.4% of the nationwide vote, but through an exception to Germany's electoral law entered the Bundestag with 17 deputies led by Gregor Gysi. In the 1994 election, in spite of an aggressive anti-communist "Red Socks" campaign organised against the PDS by the then-ruling Christian Democrats aimed at scaring off voters, the PDS managed to increase its share to 4.4 percent, winning a plurality in four eastern electoral districts, and re-entered the Bundestag with an enlarged caucus of 30 deputies. In 1998, the party reached the high-water mark in its fortunes by electing 37 deputies with 5.1% of the national vote, thus surpassing the 5% threshold required for guaranteed federal representation and full parliamentary status. The party's future seemed bright, but it suffered from a number of weaknesses, not the least of which was its dependence on Mr Gysi, considered by supporters and critics alike as a celebrity in German politics who stood in stark contrast to colorless membership of The Left. Gysi's resignation in 2000 after losing a policy debate with leftist factions brought conflict to the PDS. In the 2002 election, the share sank to 4.0%, and the party was able to seat only two back-benchers elected directly from their districts, Petra Pau and Gesine Lötzsch.

After the 2002 debacle, the PDS adopted a new, moderate program and re-installed long-time Gysi ally Lothar Bisky, as chairman. A renewed sense of self-confidence soon re-energized the party. In the 2004 elections to the European Parliament, the PDS won 6.1% of the vote nationwide, its highest share at that time in a federal election. Its electoral base in the eastern German states continued to grow, where today it ranks with the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats as one of the region's three strongest parties. However, low membership and voter support in Germany's western states continued to plague the party until it formed an electoral alliance in July 2005 with the newly-formed Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (WASG), a leftist faction largely consisting of dissident Social Democrats and trade union members.

[edit] Alliance with the WASG

After negotiations, the PDS and WASG agreed on terms for a combined ticket to compete in the 2005 federal elections and pledged to unify into a single left party in 2007. According to the pact, the parties did not compete against each another in any district. Instead, WASG candidates—including the former Social Democratic leader, Oskar Lafontaine—were nominated on the PDS electoral list. To symbolize the new relationship, the PDS changed its name to The Left Party/PDS, with the letters "PDS" optional in western states where many voters still regarded the PDS as an "eastern" party with personal and ideological links to the East German, communist SED regime.

The alliance provided a strong electoral base in the east and benefited from WASG's growing voter potential in the west. Gregor Gysi, returning to public life only months after brain surgery and two heart attacks, shared the spotlight with Lafontaine as co-leader of the party's energetic and professional campaign. Both politicians led The Left faction in the German Bundestag after the election.

Polls early in the summer showed the unified Left list on a "high-altitude flight," winning as much as 12 percent of the vote, and for a time it seemed possible the party would surge past the established German Greens and the liberal Free Democratic Party and become the third-strongest faction of the Bundestag. Alarmed by the Left's unexpected rise in the polls, Germany's mainstream politicians responded to Lafontaine and Gysi as "leftist populists" and "demagogues" and accused the party of flirting with neo-Nazi voters. A gaffe by Lafontaine, who described "foreign workers" as a threat in one speech early in the campaign, provided ammunition for charges that The Left was attempting to exploit German xenophobia and voters from the far right.

In spite of all this, in the 2005 elections the Left Party received 8.7% of the nationwide vote and won 53 seats in the German Bundestag. The process towards unification between Left Party.PDS and WASG went on until 2007. On March 27, 2007, sealed their unification. The party founding convention took place on 16 June.

Shortly before the unification, the Left Party/PDS had already entered the constituency of Bremen and was thus represented in a state legislature of former West Germany - something it had never accomplished as PDS. In 2008, more electoral successes followed for The Left, which entered the state parliaments of Lower Saxony and Hessen and the senate of Hamburg.

In the 2009 elections to the European Parliament, the Left Party won 7.5% of the vote nationwide, thus raising percentage points by one in each European election (1994: 4.7%, 1999: 5.8%, 2004: 6.1%)

[edit] Policies

The Left aims for democratic socialism. In accordance to Marxism, The Left aims at overcoming capitalism. [2] As a platform of left politics in the wake of globalization, The Left includes many different factions, ranging from communists to center-left social democrats.

The Left hasn't yet adopted its own party program. In March 2007, during the joint party convention of Left Party and WASG, a document outlining political principles was agreed on. In terms of fiscal policies, those include solidarity and more self-determination for workers, redistribution of wealth through different means including tax increases for corporations, big businesses and wealthy individuals, the rejection of privatization and the introduction of a minimum wage.

Concerning foreign policy, The Left welcomes the European process of integration, while opposing all forms of militarism rising in the current political climate and the market-oriented policies of the European Union. The party strives for the democratization of the EU institutions and a stronger role of the United Nations in international politics.

[edit] Observation by Verfassungsschutz

Germany operates a system of "Verfassungsschutz" (Constitutional Protection) at both federal level (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, BfV) and state level (Landesbehörden für Verfassungsschutz, LfV), which carries out domestic surveillance of actual and suspected activities which may threaten the "basic free and democratic order" ("freiheitliche demokratische Grundordnung") at the core of the German constitution. The Left Party and some of its caucuses remain under observation by the BfV, listed in the annual Verfassungsschutzbericht under the heading "left-extremist tendencies and suspected cases". The 2007 report cites as evidence of the party's "extremism" Lothar Bisky's June 2007 statement that democratic socialism remains the party's goal: "We also still discuss the change of property and power relations ... We ask the 'Systemquestion'." However the report notes that in practice the parliamentary party appears as to act as a "reform-oriented" left force. In addition, the report cites "openly extremist groupings" within the party, notably the Marxist-Leninist Communist Platform, which in Sahra Wagenknecht has a representative on the 44-member Left Party executive.[3] Separately, a single Left MP, Bodo Ramelow, was under observation by the BfV, until a January 2008 court decision that this observation was illegal.[4] [5]

The Left is also under observation by 4 western CDU/CSU-governed states (Lower Saxony, Hessen, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), from a total of 11 western states.[6] Saarland ceased observation of The Left in January 2008.[7] By contrast, in the 5 eastern states The Left is not under observation, with the local LfVs seeing no indication of anti-constitutional behaviour of the party as a whole. However the Communist Platform within The Left is under observation in 3 eastern states.[8]

Lothar Bisky
Oskar Lafontaine

[edit] Elections and support

Through previous elections that the PDS contested, the Left Party holds seats in the state parliaments of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia.

In the May 2007 Bremen state election, seven party members were elected to the state parliament. This was the first breakthrough for the PDS-WASG in a former West German state.[9] The new Left Party continued to make gains in the western states following the January 2008 state elections in Lower Saxony and Hesse, as well as the February 2008 Hamburg state election.

As a result of the Hesse election results, state SPD leader Andrea Ypsilanti sought to form a minority government with the Greens, which would require the external support of the Left deputies. This would have been the first time that the Left formed any alliance with a government in a western state. The SPD and Left state parties ratified agreements for such an alliance. However, the move was controversial, since Ypsilanti had promised during the election not to work the Left Party. After months of debates and negotiations, the proposed government was scheduled to be brought to a vote in the Hessen Lantag on November 4, 2008. On the eve of the vote, four SPD deputies broke with party discipline and declared they would vote against Ypsilanti, effectively ending the possibility of a minority government.[10] As a result, new elections did take place in January 2009. Ypsilanti stepped down as the SPD's chief candidate, and she has been replaced by party deputy Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel.[11][12] In this election the Linke gained 0.3% on the result one year earlier (now 5.4%), staying in parliament (the SPD lost 13%, the Greens gained 6.2%)[13]

The Left contested an election in Bavaria for the first time in the September 2008 Bavaria state election. It garnered 4.3 percent of the vote, which was just short of the 5 percent necessary to win seats in the Landtag.

In the Saarland, Oskar Lafontaine's home state, the Left Party has out-polled the SPD with 24 percent support, but not the CDU. This is a first for the party in the west. Saarland will hold its next state election in August 2009.[14]

Ahead of the 2009 federal elections, the Left has approximately 12-15 percent support nationally, according to most polls.[15][16]

In October 2008 the Left Party nominated Tatort actor and activist Peter Sodann as their candidate for the 2009 presidential election.[17] Since the German president is chosen by the Bundesversammlung, consisting of all members of the Bundestag and an equal number of Bundesrat-selected delegates, Sodann did not win but he got 91 of the 1223 votes cast (the Linke had 90 delegates).

[edit] Currents and tendencies

The Left Party has a number of internal caucuses, most often referred to as platforms or forums.

  • The Anticapitalist Left (Antikapitalistische Linke)[18] represents those critical of participation in coalition governments. They believe that government participation or support should be dependent on a set of minimum demands (including no privatizations, no war funding, and no cuts in social spending). As its name suggests, the group seeks to position the party firmly against any form of capitalism. Prominent representatives of this group are Sahra Wagenknecht, Tobias Pflüger, Cornelia Hirsch und Ulla Jelpke.
  • The Communist Platform (Kommunistische Plattform, KPF) was originally formed as a tendency of the PDS. It is less critical of German Democratic Republic than other groupings, and it promotes orthodox Marxist positions in debates. A "strategic goal" of the KPF is "building a new socialist society, using the positive experiences of really existing socialism and to learn from mistakes" [19] Its primary leader is Sahra Wagenknecht, who is on the National Committee of the Left Party. The Platform had around 850 members in 2007, according to the Verfassungsschutz[20] - around 1% of the total party membership.
  • The Democratic Socialist Forum (Forum demokratischer Sozialismus)[21] is a democratic socialist faction that was originally part of the PDS. It supports continued participation in the state governments of Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is closest to the Reform Left Network.
  • The Emancipatory Left (Emanzipatorische Linke, Ema.Li)[22] is a current that endorses libertarian socialist principles. It backs a decentralized society and support social movements. One of Ema.Li's primary spokespersons is Katja Kipping, and most of its conveners are from the Saxony branch of the party.
  • The Reform Left Network (Netzwerk Reformlinke)[23] was originally formed in 2003 as a tendency in the PDS. It promotes social democratic positions and supports cooperation with the SPD and the Greens. A prominent member of the network is Petra Pau.

In addition to the main platforms, a number of far-left groups have joined the Left Party since its formation, including Linksruck (now known as Marx21). Socialist Alternative members have sought to join, but the application for membership by Lucy Redler and others has been controversial. Other groups, such as the German Communist Party and the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany, have formed local alliances with the Left but have not joined the party.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Mitgliederzahlen September 2008" Die Linke website.
  2. ^ "Our alternative: Social, democratic and peacemaking reforms to overcome capitalizm" Programmatic Points, part III
  3. ^ Verfassungsschutzbericht 2007, Federal Ministry of the Interior.
  4. ^ Aktenzeichen: 20 K 3077/06, 20 K 6242/03
  5. ^ Beobachtung von Linkspartei-Politiker verboten, Welt Online, 17 January 2008, accessed 16 March 2008
  6. ^ Die Linke – keine Gefährdung für die Verfassung, tagesschau.de, 16. January 2008, accessed 16 March 2008
  7. ^ Beobachtung von Linkspartei-Politiker verboten, Welt Online, 17 January 2008, accessed 16 March 2008
  8. ^ Neue Linke verunsichert Verfassungsschützer, netzeitung.de, 18 June 2007, accessed 16 March 2008
  9. ^ "Germany after the Bremen election," The Economist (17 May 2007).
  10. ^ "A mess in Hesse," The Economist (6 November 2008).
  11. ^ "Ypsilanti verzichtet auf Spitzenkandidatur," Der Spiegel (8 November 2008).
  12. ^ Christian Teevs, "Hessens Grüne schwenken auf Anti-CDU-Kurs," Der Spiegel (12 November 2008).
  13. ^ Landeswahlleiter, "Final Result of the election (Endgültiges Ergebnis der Landtagswahl)(PDF)," Staatsanzeiger für das Land Hessen(16 February 2009).
  14. ^ "Linkspartei überholt SPD erstmals im Westen," Der Spiegel (3 September 2008).
  15. ^ "Linkspartei im Aufwind," Der Spiegel (16 October 2008).
  16. ^ "SPD stürzt auf 20 Prozent," Der Spiegel (4 June 2008).
  17. ^ "Peter Sodann wäre ein Bundespräsident des Volkes," statement by Bisky, Gysi and Lafontaine (14 October 2008).
  18. ^ http://www.antikapitalistische-linke.de/
  19. ^ Beschluss der Landeskonferenz der Kommunistischen Plattform der Partei DIE LINKE des Landes Brandenburg vom 29.9.2007
  20. ^ Verfassungsschutzbericht 2007, p152, Federal Ministry of the Interior.
  21. ^ http://www.forum-ds.de/
  22. ^ http://www.emanzipatorische-linke.de/
  23. ^ http://www.reformlinke.net/

[edit] External links

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