AN INSIDE LOOK AT GERMANY'S LEFT PARTY - By Cornelia Hildebrandt ROSA LUXEMBURG STIFTUNG - Rosa ...
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AN INSIDE LOOK AT
ROSA
GERMANY’S LEFT PARTY
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG
NEW YORK OFFICE By Cornelia HildebrandtROSA
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG
NEW YORK OFFICE
Table of Contents
Germany’s Left Party: Where to Go from Here? By the Editors....................................................1
An Inside Look at Germany’s Left Party
By Cornelia Hildebrandt
Place in the Party System.............................................................................................................2
The Left Party After the Elections of 2011.................................................................................5
Membership and Social Composition of the Left Party...........................................................8
The Question of Organization and Intra-Party Democracy...................................................10
The Development of the Party..................................................................................................11
The Basic Consitions For the Merger Process.........................................................................11
What Are the Differences Between the Various Left Positions?...........................................13
Published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, New York Office, October 2012
Editors: Stefanie Ehmsen and Albert Scharenberg
Address: 275 Madison Avenue, Suite 2114, New York, NY 10016
Email: info@rosalux-nyc.org; Phone: +1 (917) 409-1040
The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is an internationally operating, progressive non-profit institution
for civic education. In cooperation with many organizations around the globe, it works on democratic
and social participation, empowerment of disadvantaged groups, alternatives for economic and social
development, and peaceful conflict resolution.
The New York Office serves two major tasks: to work around issues concerning the United Nations
and to engage in dialogue with North American progressives in universities, unions, social movements
and politics.
ww w .r osal u x - n yc.or gROSA
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG
NEW YORK OFFICE
Germany’s Left Party: Where to Go from Here?
The German political party DIE LINKE (Left Party) was established in 2007 as a merger of two previously
independent parties: the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), founded in 1990 and predominantly
anchored in East Germany, and the Electoral Alternative for Labor and Social Justice (WASG), founded
in 2004 in the western part of the Republic. Since it was founded, the party has raced from success to
success in state as well as national elections, the high point being its reelection to the Bundestag in
2009 with 11.9% of the votes for 76 seats. That success definitively established the party and funda-
mentally changed the German political landscape.
Ultimately, however, the party has had to accept losses in the state assembly elections. Its position is
paradoxical: In a situation where the financial and economic crisis, austerity policies within the Euro-
pean Union, ongoing attacks on social achievements, and the participation of the German military in
the war in Afghanistan should benefit a progressive approach based on generally accepted ideas, DIE
LINKE has to fight to maintain popularity.
Cornelia Hildebrandt, deputy director of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation’s Institute for Social Anal-
ysis, studied DIE LINKE’s situation—its creation and position within the party system, its voters, and
its members—prior to its last party conference in June 2012, when a new party leadership, led by
co-chairs Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger, was elected. Hildebrandt particularly focuses on internal
party discussions about controversial issues: analysis of capitalism and distribution of property, inter-
ests and key internal party questions, and the ongoing debate around participation in the government
on a state level.
Stefanie Ehmsen and Albert Scharenberg
Co-Directors of New York Office, October 2012
1ROSA
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG
NEW YORK OFFICE
An Inside Look at Germany’s Left Party
By Cornelia Hildebrandt
The Left Party in Germany (DIE LINKE) refuses Three basic ideas must be brought together
to resign itself to a world in which “profit inter- here: First, individual freedom and personal
ests determine the prospects of millions of men development for each individual through so-
and women and in which exploitation, war and cial equality of participation in the conditions
imperialism cut whole countries off from hope of a self-determined life in solidarity; second,
and the future.” The Left Party will join with the subordination of the economy and ways
trade-union forces, social movements, other of living to the development of solidarity and
left-wing parties, and citizens of Germany, Eu- the preservation of nature; and, third, the re-
rope and the world in the search for a social alization of these two ideas through an eman-
alternative, “to build a society of democratic cipatory process “in which the supremacy of
socialism in which reciprocal recognition of the capital is overcome by democratic, social and
freedom and equality of every individual is the ecological forces, and a society based on dem-
condition for the development of all in solidar- ocratic socialism comes into being.”2 The fol-
ity.”1 Thus did the Left Party formulate its stra- lowing article is intended to show the Left Par-
tegic approach in its new Party Programme of ty’s potential for pursuing such an ambitious
2011. path.
Place in the Party System
The Left Party in Germany has transformed the tive-liberal camp, nor a potential left-wing camp
party system. With its stable presence since consisting of the SPD, the Greens and the Left
2005, confirmed by the Bundestag elections of Party, has a structural majority. “The fluid char-
2009, Germany’s fluid five-party system con- acter describes a tendency of open coalition
gealed into a structure with two large mass options, which has changed radically due to the
parties, the CDU (conservatives) and the SPD fact that the ability of the mass parties to keep a
(social democrats), and three medium-sized grip on their support has eroded over the years,
parties, the Greens, the FDP (liberals), and the and due, too, to the founding of the new Left
Left Party. All five parties are in open competi- Party.”3 Whereas in 1998 the two mass parties,
tion with one another, and there is no structural the CDU and the SPD, represented 37.5 mil-
asymmetry; i.e. neither the bourgeois conserva-
2 Ibid.
3 Horst Kahrs (2009): Zwei Gewinner ein Absturz (Two
1 Programme of the DIE LINKE Party. Resolution of the winners, one crash); an intermediate assessment for
Party Congress, Erfurt, 21 to 23 October 2011, approved the Parties and Social Movements Discussion Circle of
through a vote by the party membership on December the RLS, www.rosalux.de/themen/parteien-demokratie/
2011. To download, see: www.die-linke.de/fileadmin/ specials/parteien-und-soziale-bewegungen/deutsch/
download/dokumente/englisch_die_linke_programm_ parteien-and-bewegungen/wahlanalysen/zwei-gewin-
erfurt.pdf. ner-ein-absturz.html.ROSA
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG CORNELIA HILDEBRANDT
NEW YORK OFFICE THE LEFT PARTY IN GERMANY
lion voters, or 76.1% of the votes cast (and vote in 2009, versus 10.6% of the female vote.
61.7% of the entire electorate), by 2009 these However, it has been unable to reach social
proportions had fallen to 24.6 million votes, libertarian voter groups in equal measure. Its
56.8% of the vote (and 39.7% of the entire elec- electoral results in its former West German bas-
torate), meaning that they had lost one third tions—e.g. the university towns—are failing to
of their votes since 1998. The result has been meet expectations.
an increasing need for three-party coalitions.
Attempts to form a “red-red-green” governing Moreover, the success of the Left Party was
coalition failed in the state election in Hesse in connected with a political power option of the
2008, because the SPD rejected any participa- party as part of a possible political project to
tion in government by the Left Party or even a prevent a conservative-liberal government, al-
government tolerated by it. In the Saarland in though even the most minimal preconditions,
2009, the possibility of a “red-red-green” coali- in terms of party politics, for a red-red-green
tion was torpedoed by the Greens, whose oust- project at the federal level were absent. The po-
er from the state parliament had been seen litical dilemma—as Jörg Prelle pointed out in his
by the Left Party as “the best guarantee of a analysis of the election results for Hesse—was
change of government.”4 With the early collapse that “many comrades had actually been count-
of the conservative-liberal-green state govern- ing on a boost from quite a different direction:
ment in 2012, the only option not open as the a boost from the ‘streets’ as a public reaction to
state moved into new elections was an SPD-Left the crisis”.5 The parliamentary strengthening of
Party coalition, now due to an SPD veto. the Left Party since its founding in 2007 has so
far not been accompanied by any strengthen-
In the 2009 Bundestag elections, the Left Party ing of extra-parliamentary resistance.
became the fourth strongest party, with 11.9%
of the vote and 76 seats in the German Bun- One thing that distinguishes the Left Party from
destag. It also has eight representatives in the all the other parties is that it has to perform
European Parliament, in the GUE/NGL Group, contradictory functions in the German party
almost 200 in 11 of the 16 state parliaments, system, as a result of the persistent regional
and over 6200 local council seats. differences between the electorates in eastern
and western Germany. Thus, in the 2009 Bund-
The decisive factor in the Left Party’s success estag elections, the Left Party won an average
in the Bundestag elections was the social ques- of 26.4% of the vote in the six eastern states,
tion. The party attracted votes as an all-German becoming the strongest or second strongest
protest party against the dismantling of social party in all of them. In the ten western states,
systems and of democracy under the so-called where the Left Party is primarily a welfare state
Agenda 2010, and as the party which could en- and protest party, it averaged 8.3% of the vote.
sure decent wages, the dignity of labor, the se- There, its voters come mainly from the lower
curity of old age pensions, and good education- social strata, and are usually men of middle
al policy. Most Left Party voters were blue-collar age with intermediate or low formal education-
workers, unemployed, trade unionists and pen- al qualifications. In the East, the Left Party is a
sioners. One unemployed person in four voted “party for all—nobody should be excluded,” both
for the Left Party. It is increasingly tending to
become a “men’s party”, with 13.3% of the male 5 Jörg Prelle (2009). Hessische Aspekte der Bundestags-
wahl 2009 (Hessian aspects of the Bundestag election),
4 Oskar Lafontaine: Rot-rote Mehrheit und Regierungs- www.rosalux.de/themen/parteien-demokratie/publika-
wechsel möglich bei Scheitern der Ökopartei (Red-red tionen/publikation/datum/2010/01/24/der-blick-in-die-
majority change of government possible if Eco-Party laender-1/thema/sprachen/parteien-demokratie/priori-
fails), Süddeutsche Zeitung, August 5, 2009. sierung-regional.html.
3ROSA
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG CORNELIA HILDEBRANDT
NEW YORK OFFICE THE LEFT PARTY IN GERMANY
Table 1: Election Results of the Left Party voters of the Left Party in the eastern states ex-
By Occupation, Education and Age pect, as is expressed in election results of over
20%. The Left Party was in coalition govern-
TOTAL WEST EAST ments in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, and in
LEFT PARTY VOTERS 11.9% 8.3% 26.4% Berlin for ten years prior to 2011; it is currently
OCCUPATION in the government of Brandenburg, in all cases
Blue-Collar Workers 17 12 31 together with the SPD. In the East, and also in
White-Collar Workers 12 8 29 the Saarland, it wins 20% or more, and is seen
Civil Servants 8 6 26 as “the party that cares.” In the West, it is still not
Self- Employed 8 6 21 in all state parliaments, has no prospect for en-
EDUCATION tering state governments, and less than 23% of
Middle School 12 9 28 its council seats have been won in these states.
O-Level Certificate 14 9 30
A-Level Certificate 1 6 28
After the 2009 Bundestag election, the position
of the Left Party in the party system changed, for
AGE
with the formation of a conservative-liberal coa-
Under 30 10 23
lition, it now shares its opposition role with the
30 – 44 9 26
Social Democrats and the Greens. The arithmeti-
45 – 59 10 33
cal majority for the three left-of-centre parties,
in terms of its electoral support and the formu- which had existed in 2005, was lost6—due not so
lation of its political positions. Even if here too much to the strength of the centre-right parties
its voters come from the lower social strata, they as to the collapse of the SPD, which saw its sup-
are also to be found among white-collar work- port drop to half its 1998 level—23%, its worst
ers, civil servants, farmers, critical intellectuals, showing since 1890.7 It lost 1.49 million voters to
apprentices and especially pensioners. In the the Left and Green Parties, and only 1.05 million
East, Left Party voters include just as many wom- to the CDU and FDP, while 1.6 million SPD voters
en as men, and show a more balanced picture stayed home. It lost voters in all age groups, but
with regard to formal educational qualifications. particularly among the young: minus 20%, and
even more, 21%, among young women. It also
The differences between East and West in voter suffered above average losses in its traditional
attitudes toward the party have given rise to dif- constituencies: blue- and white-collar workers
ferent perspectives on the party even amongst and trade unionists. Although the SPD has re-
its own leadership: Regional leaders in the West covered somewhat in both the polls and in state
see it as a protest party; those in the East, as a elections, it seems to be stuck at the 30% lev-
mass party. On one side, the view prevails that el nationwide, with both the Left Party and the
the concept of a mass party dilutes its focus on Greens having been strengthened in the long
the socially disadvantaged, is ill-defined, and term, partially at its expense. In any case, the
contradicts the party’s self-image as a class par- Left Party can no longer define itself with refer-
ty of the working people and the unemployed. ence to the weakness of the SPD.
The contrary view is that the approach of being
a protest party of the socially disadvantaged ex- If, however, there are going to be social and po-
cludes important voter groups in the middle of litical majorities for a political change of course,
society from the Left Party, nailing the party to the Left Party must define its relationship to
its oppositional role, and thus abandoning any
6 Cf. Kahrs (2009), op. cit.
chance for parliamentary policy formulation as 7 Leaving aside the elections just prior to and after the
a governing party. Yet this is exactly what the Nazi seizure of power.
4ROSA
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG CORNELIA HILDEBRANDT
NEW YORK OFFICE THE LEFT PARTY IN GERMANY
the SPD more clearly. At present, the Left Party, The Left Party sees itself “in fundamental so-
the SPD and the Greens act in opposition inde- cial and political opposition to neoliberalism
pendently of one another, with no joint political and the rule of capital, imperialist policy and
or social project discernible. The relationship of war.”10 It describes as one of its core tasks a
the Left Party to the Social Democrats is unclear. change in the balance of the societal relation-
Gesine Lötzsch, one of the two co-chairs of the ship of power in order to implement a “restruc-
Left Party from 2010–2012, saw the SPD not as turing of society based on solidarity and a left
an enemy, but rather as a party with which she democratic, social, ecological and peaceful
could imagine cooperating.8 By contrast, her policy”11—all this through a transformation of
colleague Klaus Ernst declared that while the the relationships of power and property. This
SPD’s partial backing off from the “Hartz IV” la- would include a democratic economic order,
bor market reform programme since the Bund-
estag elections is indeed a first step, it is still not that subjects the market regulation of production
enough. For them to be capable of governing, and distribution to democratic, social and eco-
he believes, and to receive the support of the logical framing and control. It has to be based on
public and democratically controlled ownership in
Left Party for that purpose, they would have to
services of general interest, of the social infrastruc-
undergo a change of personnel, and take such ture, in the power industry and in the financial sec-
other steps as support for a tax on wealth and, tor. We want the democratic socialization of further
in peace policy, the withdrawal of the Bundes- structurally relevant areas on the basis of state,
wehr from Afghanistan. municipal, co-operative or workforce ownership.12
In the Left Party’s new Programme, published In order to be able to realize this, a broad so-
in October 2011, the only references to the So- cietal left alliance would be needed. The polit-
cial Democrats are historical, for the Left Par- ical alliances necessary for this should only be
ty sees the SPD’s founding concepts as part of entered into if they advance a political change
its own historical heritage; the Greens, on the of direction in government and society, and if
other hand, are referred to largely by criticisms the core demands of the Left Party, such as the
of the red-green government of 1998–2005. withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from Afghani-
The Programme’s Preamble states somewhat stan, the repeal of the neoliberal labor market
vaguely that the Left Party differs from all Hartz IV laws, the introduction of a legal mini-
those parties that “obsequiously submit to the mum wage, and the abandonment of the plan
wishes of the economically powerful and for to raise the retirement age to 67, are agreed to
that very reason can scarcely be told apart.”9 and seriously implemented.
The Left Party After the Elections of 2011
The Berlin election of September 2011 was the state-wide municipal elections. The Left Party
last in that year’s cycle of seven state and two had been able to assert itself as a political force
for social justice. However, in all these elections
8 Gesine Lötzsch: Die SPD ist nicht mein Feind (The SPD it dropped significantly behind its results in the
is not my enemy), www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/ ar-
ticle6292554/Gesine-Loetzsch-Die-SPD-ist-nicht-mein- 10 Ibid., p. 74.
Feind.html. 11 Ibid., p. 75.
9 Programme DIE LINKE, p. 4 (Preamble). 12 Ibid., p. 5 (Preamble).
5ROSA
LUXEMBURG
STIFTUNG CORNELIA HILDEBRANDT
NEW YORK OFFICE THE LEFT PARTY IN GERMANY
Bundestag elections of 2009, in which it had such elections as those for the state parliaments
won 11.9 percent nationwide. of Baden-Württemberg and neighbouring Rhine-
land-Palatinate, where the Greens also entered
Although the bourgeois camp has no uniform government as the SPD’s junior partners. In both
strategy for the current economic and financial states, the Left Party failed to win seats.
crisis, the Left Party has not succeeded in be-
coming part of an alternative social and political Thus the changed constellations of social con-
alliance. On the contrary, the SPD-Green option flict have also altered the perception of and em-
not including the Left Party is being discussed phases on the financial and economic crisis, of
as a feasible political alternative. The increasing the environmental and energy crisis as well as
social acceptability of the Greens in 2011 made of the alleged crisis of security (terrorism, mi-
possible Germany’s first Green state premier, in gration waves, etc.). By introducing short-time
Baden-Württemberg, the large, prosperous state work regulations, economic stimulus packages
in the Southwest. Given real developments to- and the “cash-for-clunkers” bonus, the econom-
wards a restoration of neoliberalism by authori- ic slump was in fact staved off in 2009 for the
tarian means, and the thorough-going neoliberal majority of the people by means of structural-
integration of the European Union, their idea of ly conservative measures. The conditions were
a “Green New Deal” seems the only politically preserved to quickly re-expand production and
acceptable alternative capable of winning sup- reduce unemployment, as soon as demand reig-
port from major segments of society. This de- nited. In this context, the social question lost im-
velopment towards a green capitalism found its portance, particularly in Stuttgart, the corporate
first politically visible expression in the nuclear headquarters and main production site of Mer-
phase-out declared by the Federal Government cedes-Benz—and the capital of Baden-Würt-
in March 2011, in the wake of the nuclear ca- temberg. The CDU developed a conservative,
tastrophe in Fukushima, Japan. As a result, ener- export-oriented economic strategy, combined
gy and the climate became the decisive issues in with an increased anti-terror and authoritarian
Figure 1: Conflicts which decided the elections, Spring 2011
Issues which determined the elections in Germany, early 2011
Radical Left Social Democrats Liberals
(Left Party) (SPD) (FDP)
Economic crisis
Social crisis Possible: development of a financial market
Possible: escalation crisis into economic crisis
Conservatives (CDU)
Greens
Paternalistic/authoritarian
(Green libertarian)
political style
Ecological crisis Security crisis
Possible: threat of climate change Possible: threat of terror or violence
6ROSA
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NEW YORK OFFICE THE LEFT PARTY IN GERMANY
security policy. The Greens countered with their where it was a party in government—with in-
“Green New Deal,” designed to combine eco- creasing processes of fragmentation as a result
nomic policy with a turn in energy policy, and of neoliberal measures imposed at the federal
also emphasized increased social inclusion and and European levels which it had to implement
democratization. The demands of the Left Party locally. Its own successful social projects, espe-
for a socially just distribution of the burdens of cially in the areas of labor market and social pol-
the crisis thus failed to register with the public. icy, were seen by voters as less important.
In Baden-Württemberg, this constellation led to Still, at the beginning of the year 2012, the Left
the defeat of the CDU-FDP state government by Party remains credible as a party of social jus-
Germany’s first “green-red” coalition—a Green tice and a party that is in a special way able to
state premier ruling with SPD support, instead secure the loyalties of workers and unemployed
of the other way round. The Left Party hardly people. It achieves above average results
played any role in the public debate dominat- among voters between 45 and 59 years of age,
ed not only by a focus on energy and climate and in eastern Germany appeals to voters over
issues, but also by a contrast in political style: 60. However, its attractiveness to younger vot-
authoritarian vs. libertarian. ers is below average, and it is increasingly los-
ing strength in the age group between 34 and
In the Bremen state election in May, the energy/ 45, the generation whose social and political
ecological issue was still important, but no longer experience is dominated by the development
decisive; the social question had again moved to of post-Fordist working and living conditions,
the top of the political agenda. Nonetheless, the and by new communications and information
Left Party again fell short of its results achieved technologies.
both in the previous state election in 2007 and
in the 2009 Bundestag election. The same was Thus, the results in the election cycle of 2010
true in the ensuing elections held in September and 2011 reflect the social impact of the Left
2011 in the eastern states of Mecklenburg-West Party, the current practical value the public
Pomerania and Berlin. The Left Party could as- attributes to it, the attractiveness of its politi-
sert itself as a party demanding social justice, cal proposals and finally also of its leadership.
but was confronted—in particular in Berlin, What became visible was the party’s strength as
Table 2: Social structure of members and voters of the Left Party
BUNDESTAG SAXONY- BADEN- BERLIN
MEMBERS ELECTIONS ANHALT WÜRTTEMBERG (FORMERLY
2009 (%) 2009 (EAST) 2011 (WEST) 2011 SPLIT)
(%) (%) (%) 2011 (%)
VOTERS OF THE LEFT PARTY 11.9 23.7 2.8 11.7
Blue-collar workers 18 11 25 5 14
White-collar workers 32 5 22 3 10
Self-employed 12 4 15 1 11
Pensioners 53 4 26 2 15
Students 4 6 n.a. n.a. n.a.
Unemployed 8 15 35 12 16
Please note that figures do not add up to 100 percent.
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a partner for issues of social justice, its deficits there has ended, and in Mecklenburg-West
in the development of its programme, strategy Pomerania fell back to third place behind the
and organization, and most of all, its lack of so- Conservatives, who are now the junior partners
cial rooting beyond representation in state par- of the SPD there. The Left Party now lacks the
liament and municipalities in the biggest states. societal tailwind which between 2007 and 2009
Therefore the Left Party must use its increased helped it to establish itself as a successful polit-
presence in such states as Lower Saxony in the ical force in then 13 states and at the national
Northwest, where it holds a large number of level. Its new social concept proclaimed in 2009
seats and hence has access to more resources, for a model of the social welfare state of the
as a “motor” for rooting itself in society, albeit 21st century linking the social and ecological
with the knowledge that parliamentary pres- questions is lacking in drive, as there is no at-
ence is no surrogate for the development of tractive counter-plan leading towards a social
local grassroots organizations. and ecological transformation. Until now, the
Left Party has been the one that “tells it like it
Currently, the Left Party is still a party whose re- is,” that has asked the right questions, but it
sults in current opinion polls remain below the has failed to demonstrate its competence with
5% threshold in five out of ten western states, regard to solutions for the future. And it has
and exceed the 20% mark in only three eastern found that it has no monopoly on the privilege
states. The Left Party is also losing support in of raising issues or questioning the prevailing
its former urban strongholds, including Berlin. conditions. In Berlin at the state level, this role
In 2011, the party failed to meet its own goal has recently been assumed by a complete-
of continuing or establishing new “red-red” ly new political force, the Pirate Party, whose
coalition projects with the SPD: It lost ground members also see themselves as—at least to a
in Berlin, so that the ten-year-old government certain degree—on the left.
Membership and Social Composition of the Left Party
In 2010, the Left Party had about 78,400 mem- by party functionaries and on databases and
bers. Some 37% of them were women; their reports of the Credential Verification Commis-
proportion in the eastern state parties was be- sions at Party Congresses. The membership of
tween 44 and 46%; in the western state parties, the Party closely corresponds with its respective
it averaged 24%. The same was true for the regional voter support; i.e. most members in
party’s new members.13 Only very vague state- the western states tend to belong to disadvan-
ments can be made regarding their social struc- taged groups, including a considerable portion
ture, due to a lack of data; these are based on of unemployed. The membership in the eastern
publications about the Left Party,14 statements states still has a disproportionate number of
pensioners, although that is not true of the ac-
13 Data on membership trends from the Executive Com-
mittee of the Left Party, May 2010. tive membership. This is exemplified by the del-
14 Cf. Sören Messinger/Jonas Rugenstein: Der Erfolg der egates to Party Congresses, over 90% of whom
Partei DIE LINKE. Sammlung im programmatischen Neb-
el (The success of the Left Party. Coming together in a
are active in base organizations or had func-
programmatic fog), in: Felix Butzlaff/Stine Harm/Franz tions in the district or state party structure.15 In
Walter (eds.): Patt oder Gezeitenwechsel? Deutschland
2009 (Stalemate or sea-change? Germany 2009), Wies- 15 A comparison of delegate verification reports from the
baden 2009. Party Congresses in 2004, 2006 and 2010 shows that
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NEW YORK OFFICE THE LEFT PARTY IN GERMANY
2010, the proportion of blue and white-collar A close correlation between members and elec-
workers among them was 33.8% (2008: 32.6); of toral supporters is to be found in the age struc-
self-employed 19.5% (2008: 17.3); of students ture. The Left Party has its greatest voter poten-
2.8% (2008: 3.4); of school pupils 0.7% (2008: tial in the 46-60 age group—and some 50% of
2.0); of unemployed 2.3% (2008: 3.4); and of the members of the western state organizations
pensioners 6.0% (2008: 5.2).16 If we compare are aged between 41 and 60, about 25% are 35
this data with those of the delegate profiles of or under, and over 3% are over 70. That is dif-
the mostly East German PDS in 1999, 2002 and ferent in the eastern state organizations, where
2004, we find that the proportion of blue and the proportion of members 35 or under makes
white-collar workers dropped from 60% in 1999 up only 7%, while about 24% are aged between
to 41% in 2006; since 2007, they have made up 41 and 60, and over 50% are over 70. However,
about a third of the delegates. The proportion the age structure of the active membership, as
of self-employed is relatively constant at about shown, for example, by the social composition of
20%. The proportion of unemployed among delegates to Party Congresses, is very different.
the delegates to party congresses has fallen. In
1999 it was 6.9% and since 2007 it has vacillated First, this age structure remained more or less
between 2 and 3%. Since 2008, pensioners have constant between 1999 and 2010. The propor-
accounted for about 5% of delegates. tion of delegates aged 25 or less remained be-
tween 6 and 7%, and of those aged between
Among new members, the ratio of employed 25 and 45, between 13 and 17%. About 30%
to unemployed persons underwent a shift be- of the delegates were between 45 and 55. The
tween 2004 and 2007. While in 2004, 48% were share of those between 55 and 65 rose slight-
employed and 52% unemployed, by 2007 the ly, from 18 in 2006 to 23% in 2010. Since 1999,
proportion of employed was 56% and the pro- the share of those aged over 65 has stayed
portion of unemployed 44%. The motives of the between 5 and 7%.
new members for joining the party are mainly
connected with issues of social justice. These As the proportion of West German members
include the growth of social inequality, jobs has grown, the Left Party has been changing
providing a living wage, welfare benefits and its language and shedding its image as an east-
pensions that permit lives in dignity, and equal ern party. In 2006, almost 80% of its members
rights for all. Of lesser importance are peace, came from the eastern states, but by 2009 this
ecological and educational issues.17 figure had dropped to 63%. Since 2006, the
eastern state parties have lost a total of about
the proportion of delegates active in local base organi-
5,000 members, while the western state par-
zations increased slightly from 22% in 2006 to almost ties managed to recruit 13,000 new members.
26% in 2010. The share of delegates in district and state The East-West weighting in the party’s structure
functions remained more or less constant, at 45%. The
problem of dual functions—those holding both a party was established in the cooperation agreements
and an electoral office—is shown in the reports: the sum reached during the merger process of the two
of all data since 2006 always yields totals in excess of original parties, the East German Party of Demo-
100%. The proportion of delegates who are members of
a union rose from 44% in 2006 to almost 60% in 2010. cratic Socialism (PDS) and the Electoral Alterna-
16 DIE LINKE (2010): Bericht der Mandatsprüfungskommis- tive for Labor and Social Justice (WASG), mostly
sion an den 2. Parteitag vom 15./16. Mai in Rostock. (Re-
composed of West German former SPD mem-
port of the Second Party Congress Delegate Verification
Commission). bers. Under this agreement, which also applied
17 Kajo Tetzlaff/Alexander Reetz (2009): Statistische Un- to the formula for the selection of delegates
tersuchung der Parteieintritte DIE LINKE 2004/2007
(Mai-August), (Statistical investigation of new members
to Party Congresses, each former party was to
of the Left Party, 2004/2007). be equally represented in all bodies. Thus, the
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average delegate from an eastern state repre- wants to be active; some are content to pay their
sented about three times as many members as dues, while others have not yet found the right
one from a western state. circumstances for becoming active. It is not clear
whether the Left Party wants to organize itself
Various contradictory or mutually exclusive ex- at the grass-roots level with the participation of
pectations are made of the party, including the many local and citizens’ initiatives and plenty of
provision of assistance for people’s lives. For scope for local self-organization, or whether it
many, the party is a place for jointly seeking wants to concentrate on building competence
justice and/or social alternatives, while for oth- centres, so as to expand its competencies and
ers it is a sanctuary for a shared history, or for its parliamentary base. Both will be necessary,
exchanging views and engaging in social activi- and will have to be the goals of the ongoing work
ties. Yet others see in it a career opportunity, a of building the party—taking into account both
chance to wield power and influence, or to find concrete requirements and the party’s overall
solutions to private problems. Not everyone responsibilities.
The Question of Organization and Intra-Party Democracy
The Left Party has its roots in the history of the and municipal bodies. Members are free to form
international labor movement and the peace intra-party associations, which are recognized at
movement, and it is committed to anti-fascism. the national level if they have been recognized as
It is close to the trade unions, the social move- statewide associations by at least eight state par-
ments and draws strength from feminism and ties. These associations operate independently,
the ecological movement. It sees itself as plural- receive party funding, and are allowed to elect
ist and open “for everyone who wants to achieve delegates to party congresses. At present there
the same goals by democratic means”.18 The par- are 22 associations at the national level, includ-
ty is divided into state organizations, with each ing political tendencies such as the Socialist Left,
member belonging to a district organization, the Forum for Democratic Socialism and the An-
usually in his/her place of residence. The Left ticapitalist Left, as well as working/interest asso-
Party grants members extensive rights, including ciations which focus on specific issues. Examples
the right to form associations with others within are the Ecological Platform, the Workplace and
the party, and the right to propose motions in Trade Union Working Group, and the Peace and
all organs of the party; individual members can Security Policy Working Group.
even propose motions at the National Party Con-
gress. The opportunity to take part in party work Membership ballots may be held on all political
may be extended to guest members, on whom issues. They may be called upon application by
nearly all membership rights may be conferred, state or district organizations representing at
with the exception of the right to take part in least a quarter of the membership. The applica-
membership ballots, vote on statute-related is- tions may be submitted by eight state organiza-
sues, stand for election to executive bodies, and tions, 5,000 party members, or by a resolution of
vote to nominate candidates for parliamentary the party congress or the National Committee.
Both non-discriminatory equality19 and gender
18 DIE LINKE (2007): Bundessatzung der Partei DIE LINKE.
1. Auftrag und Name der Partei (National Statute of the
Left Party, 1. Party goal and name), p. 5. 19 Non-discriminatory equality is specified in the the ex-
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democracy are enshrined in the National Stat- tional or state party executive committees, the
utes. Half of all office holders in party bodies holders of seats in European, federal or state
must be women. Of the members of the na- parliaments must be less than half of the total.
The Development of the Party
The parity in the leading bodies of the party in the party system, its function and its practi-
and the high degree of autonomy of the state cal value. Inside the party, which is still a proj-
organizations have not only shaped the merger ect of two mutually dependent sub-parties,
process, but have remained to this day the way these issues are still a subject of controversy,
in which political and socio-cultural heteroge- aggravated by different ideas regarding party
neity in the party are maintained. The leader- politics, political biographies, socializations and
ship of the National Executive that was elected divergent political cultures. The election of the
at the National Party Congress in 2010 in Ros- new leadership brought this to the surface. The
tock was, with the exception of the treasurer, necessary extension of transitional regulations
based on a duality of East-West, PDS-WASG par- had to be confirmed by an amendment to the
ity. This applies to the chair, the deputy chairs, statutes of the party congress. In order to en-
the party manager and those in charge of party sure the necessary majority for this at the party
development. This settlement of the leadership congress—a two-thirds majority is required to
question with the involvement of the regional amend the statutes—the party congress held a
chairs was seen as a solution to the outbreak membership ballot, in which about 48% of the
of tensions at the beginning of 2010, after the members took part, of whom over 80% gave
resignations of the co-chairs Oskar Lafontaine their assent, while 94% declared themselves in
(ex-WASG) and Lothar Bisky (ex-PDS) had cre- favor of putting the new Party Programme to
ated a power vacuum. At stake was the inter- the vote in another membership ballot by the
pretation and orientation of the party, its role end of 2011 in which it was approved.
The Basic Conditions for the Merger Process
The PDS was, of course, the party that emerged East Germany. It is the only such party to have
from the SED, the communist ruling party of transformed itself into a radical, left-demo-
cratic party; the others either moved into the
ecutive bodies of the party and the territorial organiza-
tions. (Statute, Paragraph 9, where prevention of any
social-democratic camp, or, in a few cases, re-
kind of discrimination is stated as a basic principle of mained true to the authoritarian “Marxist-Le-
the party). Section 2 states: “The rights of social, ethnic ninist” tradition. After its defeat in the 2002
and cultural minorities in the membership, especially
the right to self-determination, enjoy the special pro- elections, the PDS had only two representatives
tection of the national and territorial executive commit- in the Bundestag.20
tees. Their representation and involvement in the deci-
sion-making process of the party shall be supported.” 20 The PDS got less than 5% of the vote nationwide, and
Ibid, p. 10. would thus normally have got no seats at all. However,
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The WASG emerged in 2004 as an association of of Angela Merkel’s first government, a CDU-
mostly West German SPD and trade union activ- SPD coalition. In 2006, the PDS and the WASG
ists disillusioned with the course of the SPD-led merged to form the party DIE LINKE—“The Left”.
government; it was founded as a party in Janu- The necessary organizational issues involved in
ary 2005. Many of its members were long-time building the new party, in particular the strategic
leftist radicals; in British terms, they were “en- decisions concerning a new Programme, were
trists” within the SPD. postponed until after the election campaigns
of 2008 and 2009. The questions to be clarified
In the May 2005 elections in North Rhine-West- remained unresolved, which encouraged the
phalia, Germany’s biggest state, the WASG and divergent political group, which was only being
the PDS failed to clear the 5% hurdle needed for kept together by the top leadership, to organize
seats in Germany, gaining 2.2% and less than 1%, within a party. These groupings drew in part on
respectively. The project of creating a successful the concerns of their original parties, whose in-
party with both societal and parliamentary influ- ternal conflicts they reflected, causing the differ-
ence as an alternative to the neoliberal policies ences between the old parties to be carried over
of the SPD, and with a view of achieving a more into the new project. Under the umbrella of the
solidarity-based society, was clearly beyond the united Left Party, they provided scope for vari-
power of the WASG on its own. Its resources ous discourses, projects and concrete activities.
were relatively meagre, while its influence in the On the one hand, they could be brought togeth-
eastern states, with the exception of Berlin, was er in the election campaigns for joint actions,
still marginal. Although the PDS had been able such as those against Hartz IV, for a minimum
to recover from its defeat of 2002 and stabilize wage, for the defence of democratic rights and
its position in the European elections of 2004, it liberties, for a policy of peace, or for coopera-
too faced uncertain prospects, as its potential for tion with social movements in such instances as
internal organizational and political renewal had opposition to the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm
been largely exhausted. Its attempt to establish in 2007. On the other, they facilitated the coex-
itself in the West was making hardly any prog- istence of divergent political and organizational
ress. perspectives, diverse political styles, a multitude
of political cultures, and cultural codes which
The erosion of SPD support, while not resulting had emerged in the course of concrete political
in any seats for the WASG, did cause the fall of experience and theoretical discourses. Specifi-
this traditional SPD stronghold to the CDU-FDP cally, this meant the coexistence of authoritari-
alliance, and, indirectly, the fall of the red-green an, welfare-state-oriented, communist, Trotsky-
federal government that summer. With the ear- ite, left-wing socialist and reformist-libertarian
ly Bundestag elections, the two left parties were groupings. They alternatively describe their par-
now “condemned” to cooperate—to agree on ty as anti-capitalist or critical of capitalism; as a
procedures enabling a joint ticket in the elec- party opposed to capitalism, neoliberalism or a
tions. Their common focus was on their rejec- neoliberal-oriented social democracy; as a party
tion of the government’s Agenda 2010, which defending the welfare state; or as a party that is
was seen as the core of the neoliberal project critical of the system and wishes to draw on the
of social and democratic cutbacks. Their entry emancipatory potential of bourgeois society.
into the Bundestag, and the refusal of the SPD
to cooperate with them, led to the formation Since 2006, these groupings have developed
into formal tendencies with their own statutes,
two candidates won single-member seats in East Ber-
lin. Had there been three such winners, the party would founding documents, websites, events, confer-
have qualified for an exemption from the 5% rule. ences and summer schools, which has caused
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their view of themselves to change. They have Today, the Left Party cultivates the image of a
become organized actors exerting power and consistent force for social justice and peace.
influence on the development of the party and Since the 2009 election, it has given this im-
its political orientation. They have been con- age concrete form in its ten-point Immediate
cerned with securing and expanding their own Programme, which, however, falls short of its
political weight within the party, with putting stated claim to call the system into question.
their own candidates into office and, ultimate- To do so, it would have to link its current de-
ly, with forcing through their own political line. mands to its “new social idea.” There is agree-
Different positions on matters of substance ment on the rejection of neoliberalism, but not
have confronted each other. At its EU Party in the assessment of capitalism. The critique of
Congress in 2009, the Left Party presented it- capitalism and the possibilities of developing
self culturally as an alliance of divergent ten- social alternatives to it are defined variously or
dencies. However, at the Berlin Party Congress controversially. The differences produce diver-
held that same year in preparation for the gent self-images and expectations of the party
Bundestag elections, things were very differ- and its strategic partners, and on the effective-
ent. Now, under the pressure of the election ness of political strategies, programmes and
campaigns, the Left Party succeeded in pulling projects. They are reflected in the documents
itself together and presenting itself as the par- of the various political tendencies in the party:
ty of social justice, backing this up with the four anti-capitalist or critical of capitalism, radical
main demands mentioned above. and/or reformist.
What Are the Differences Between the Various Left Positions?
We will attempt here to illustrate them by way this capacity simply a result of the exploitation
of the examples of four central and at the same of people and nature, and of the oppression
time contentious left-wing issues: the analysis of nations, or does it, by virtue of developing
of capitalism; the description of social fault new modes of production, new technologies
lines; the property question; and the question and new products, also give rise to a new
of left-wing participation in government. All quality of modes of production and living that
are at present the subject of controversy, es- point the way forward beyond capitalism? Are
pecially in connection with the programmatic its achievements—such as the welfare state—
debates.21 therefore departures from the norm of cap-
italism, or are they an intrinsic, constitutive
element of the capitalist system not focused
1. The analysis of capitalism and so- exclusively upon profit, which is itself constant-
cial perspectives ly fought over, and represents a field of social
conflict? Must the Left Party aim at a complete
Although the question regarding capitalism’s break, or should it concentrate its strategy and
capacity to develop and innovate may appear programmes on pushing back the dominant
simple, there are indeed very divergent po- role of profit in capitalism?
sitions within the Left Party in this respect. Is
21 The positions presented here are to be found in the For those supporting a strict anti-capitalist po-
programmatic documents of the relevant tendencies. sition, the destructive potential of “casino” or
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“predatory” capitalism and its inability to re- mentary representatives repeatedly refer to
spond to the challenges of the current crises the “strategic triangle” of the Left Party:
are central to the analysis. In their view, the
capacity to reform only serves the purpose of ⇒⇒ First, drafting an alternative vision of so-
adaptation to changing existential conditions, cial development (democratic socialism);
or is the result of class struggles. They empha-
size the crisis-prone development of flexible, ⇒⇒ Second, resistance to social cutbacks,
financial-market-driven capitalism. Those sup- restriction of democracy, environmental
porting a more reform-oriented position tend pollution and war;
to describe the contradiction between capital-
ism’s productive possibilities and the concrete ⇒⇒ Third, the political shaping of society in-
reality of social conditions. Others in turn as- side and outside the parliaments.
sume that despite the prevailing dominance of
capital, at the heart of which lies profit maxi- The art of left political strategy is to combine
mization, realms may emerge which are not all this with the development of projects that
subject to the logic of profit, and could hence create the conditions for an alternative path of
promote alternative developments, under social development, and to win social majorities
changed hegemonic conditions. Consequently, for them.
the latter support the concept of a transfor-
mational process which can only be realized in
practice by a dialectic interweaving of reformist 2. The property question
and revolutionary changes.
The Left Party differs from the other parties in
Interpretations of socialism as a social alterna- that it poses the systemic question in terms of
tive also differ. For some, it is still the goal, the the relations of ownership and production. The
path and the set of values, as described in the rule of capitalist private property must be over-
PDS Party Programme of 2003, in which social- come by genuine socialization. The abolition
ism is seen as a society in which each and every of the capitalist system of property means the
individual has equal access to the basic goods transfer to public ownership of all important
of a free life in solidarity. While the goal is pri- corporations in the key sectors, i.e. of all struc-
mary, the specific means must be decided on turally vital enterprises. There is agreement in
democratically. Freedom is the point of refer- the Left Party that this refers to the areas of
ence of socialist policies, and equality the mea- key public utilities, infrastructure, the energy
sure of participation in the benefits of freedom, grids, information networks, and the financial
which permit all members of society equal ac- system. There are differences of opinion with
cess to the elementary basic conditions of a regard to the expansion of public ownership.
self-determined life worthy of human beings. Should all corporations be nationalized, for ex-
These include social and legal security, health, ample? Or do we also need a societally relevant
work, education, culture, clean air, clean water, private-enterprise sector organized on a decen-
and much more.22 On the level of concrete par- tralized basis, which would allow the existence
liamentary politics, especially at the state level, of competing, efficiently producing economic
the dialectical link between goals and practice, units acting on their own responsibility and
between day-to-day politics and social alterna- producing on their “own account”? Does the
tives, has so far been lacking, although parlia- socialist system of property mean the transfer
of all important means of production to pub-
22 Cf. PDS Party Programme of 2003. lic ownership, or does it mean a multi-sector
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economy with a strong public sector under hegemony can only be realized by articulating
democratic control? and bringing together various interests. It is
also clear that it will be necessary to reconcile
contradictory interests that face one another
3. The question of interests and the across lines of societal conflict, such as that
key lines of conflict in society between wage-earners and the unemployed,
and especially the conflict between capital
Whose interests should the Left Party repre- and labor. The predominance of this conflict,
sent? Should it represent the interests of the from which others—such as those between
working people and the unemployed—i.e. the genders and between humankind and its
should it be the representative of specific in- natural environment—are derived, tends to
terests—or does it see itself as the represen- be stressed by those with anti-capitalist views.
tative of the overall interests of the majority The key task of the Left Party is therefore seen
of the people? What is clear is that left-wing as being the societal organization and the just
Table 3: Comparison of divergent positions within the Left Party
Position A Subject Position B
Capitalist society develops as a struggle
Society is capitalist, i.e. all its areas are
between two tendencies: a dominant logic
capitalist; changes arise out of adjust-
View of the world of capital and a social logic that develops
ment processes intrinsic to the system, or
as it is as a result of social and democratic strug-
are the result of class struggles, which
gles; capital-dominated society has eman-
alleviate certain evils for a time.
cipation potentials the left must tap.
The crisis of over-accumulation leads The crisis of financial-market capitalism is
to constantly intensifying competition tied to a comprehensive crisis of civiliza-
between the major capitalist countries. tion, in which financial-market, economic,
A radical redistribution of national in- Interpretation of climatic and food crises coincide. Various
come is forced through at the expense crises scenarios are possible: authoritarian
of those dependent on employment, capitalism with democracy and welfare
while cuts in and privatization of social cuts, a Green New Deal, a socio-ecologi-
systems and utilities take place. cal transformation.
Capitalism has entered a new ex- Current balance An organic crisis of neo-liberal finan-
pansive and aggressive phase. of forces cial-market capitalism has occurred.
Primacy of the contradiction between
Plurality of conflicts – capital-labour, rac-
capital and labour, from which other Main fault lines
ism, sexism, the North-South conflict.
contradictions are derived.
Transformation of society is rejected as il-
Socialism as medium-term, essential ori-
lusory, all that is needed being resistance Social entation for the left democratic socialism
to the ruling bloc, against mass unem-
perspectives as a transformational process; a society
ployment, and the struggle to preserve
based on solidarity.
and expand the welfare state.
A social order in which private ownership View of Goals, path and values as in the PDS Party
of the means of production is superseded
socialism Programme of 2003.
by real socialization.
Economic democracy, especially demo- Socio-ecological transformation,
cratic regulation of financial markets Al- strengthening of public control and
Ways and means
ternative economic policy with strength- comprehensive democratization of the
ening of domestic demand. economy and society.
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All forms of ownership of the means of Pluralist, solidarity-based property order;
production to be brought under public participation of various forces in the
control, with co-determination by em- Property disposal (workforces, representatives
ployees; transfer of key areas of the question of regions, ecological interests), without
economy, including utilities, to public abolishing entrepreneurial independence
ownership. in the process.
Wage-earners (whether employed, unem- Whose interests
Centre-left alliance, view of Left Party in
ployed, or drawing pensions) Interests of should be mainly
East as mass party, i.e. policies for all,
those who own nothing or little in capital- represented (tar-
building of political centre-left alliances
ist society get groups)?
Improvement of people’s concrete
Improvement of people’s concrete cir-
circumstances Participation in govern-
cumstances participation in government
ment serves to shape policy for forcing
is to be linked to conditions: no welfare
Participation in through transformational projects; ways
cuts, no privatization of public utilities, no
government of changing internal and external balanc-
cuts in the public services; at the national
es of power:
level, withdrawal of Bundeswehr from
A strategic triangle – combination of pro-
Afghanistan.
test, resistance and alternative projects.
No Bundeswehr missions abroad (with or Rejection of combat missions not man-
Peace policy
without a UN mandate). dated by the UN.
Key demand: equal pay for equal work, Gender relations are not a secondary
equal access to paid employment and contradiction, but just as important as
hence the key significance of the recon- other social contradictions; dissolution of
Gender relations
cilability of family and career. Historically, traditional gender roles; gender justice,
women’s movements have their political too, with regard to paid employment;
roots on the left. reconcilability of family and career.
No privatization of public property, seen
No privatization of public utilities; explor-
as “internal enclosure”, instead social,
Differences in key ing public forms of ownership: the public
state and municipal responsibility for
demands character alone is not enough; restructur-
education, health, water and energy;
ing of the public services.
expansion of the public services.
Access to and a fairer distribution of Access to work in dignity from which one
jobs, a minimum wage, jobs that pay a can live, but also addressing alienated paid
Work
living wage; shorter working hours with- employment under capitalist conditions;
out loss of pay. no compulsory employment.
Primacy of collective values like solidarity Freedom, equality, solidarity, emancipa-
both in everyday life and everyday con- tion, justice, preservation of nature; em-
Values
sciousness; individual values secondary. phasis on individual freedom.
Freedom through socialism. Socialism through freedom.
distribution of paid jobs and other socially nec- approach emphasizes the plurality of various
essary types of work. Gender equality means forms of exploitation and oppression, against
equal access to jobs, equal pay, and the recon- which a plurality of solidarity-based emanci-
cilability of family and career. In this sense, Left patory struggles will have to be developed, all
Party policy must be class-oriented. Different with equal status and all equally important for
positions are represented in the party by those the Left Party. Only in this way will it be possible
who make the claim to being emancipatory, to create an alternative centre-left alliance, to
and therefore also see the value of freedom which emancipatory, solidarity-minded groups
as including freedom from alienated labor un- of the social and cultural centre belong, such
der capitalism. Consequently, they demand the as threatened middle strata, core groups of the
right to an unconditional basic income. This wage-earning population, the unemployed or
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