Left Party gains confidence as German election nears

A new "spirit of optimism" came up repeatedly in speeches at the Left Party's convention in Berlin on Saturday. Just a few months ago, there was no such outlook.

Last year was a political nightmare for the party: In January, their former parliamentary group leader Sahra Wagenknecht founded her own eponymous party, then they saw their European Union representation cut in half to just 2.7%. The 2024 state elections were also a disaster, with the party losing its traditional foothold in the east. Their only state premier failed to hang on in Thuringia, while they barely made it into Saxony's state parliament and were kicked out of Brandenburg entirely.

So it was little wonder that few believed that the Left Party, known as Die Linke in German, would have much success in the upcoming parliamentary elections on February 23.

Renegade offshoot loses steam

But the tide seems to be turning: In polls the Left Party is approaching the 5% hurdle needed to enter the Bundestag as the renegade Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) loses support. The shift is likely due to a change in party leadership, with Jan van Aken and Ines Schwerdtner replacing Janine Wissler and Martin Schirdewan, who were unable to halt the party's steady loss in support.

The duo, who were elected in October, had barely taken office when Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition collapsed the next month, forcing a vote of no confidence that saw him call for an early election. Without their now estranged coalition partner, the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the environmentalist Green Party can no longer form a majority in the Bundestag.

Fierce criticism of the SPD and Greens

In the wake of the government collapse, the Left Party quickly presented an election program focused on social and economic policy, which has now been adopted at the party conference. They accuse the SPD and Greens of having done nothing to combat the mounting affordability crisis in recent years. "People realize that the Left Party is credibly fighting for social issues, that no one else is doing it, that we are the only ones taking on the rich," party co-leader Ines Schwerdtner told DW.

To reduce poverty, she has proposed abolishing value-added tax on basic foodstuffs, hygiene products and public transport tickets. Currently, up to 19% VAT is charged on these items—almost a fifth of their total price.

Wealth tax to combat inequality

To finance these plans, the party wants to increase state revenue with a graduated wealth tax: 1% for people in possession of €1 million, 5% from €50 million and 12% from €1 billion.

"Millions of hard-working people have created this extreme wealth," party co-leader Jan van Aken told the party conference. "We have to get it back so that we can all live well again." There is enough money to go around, it is just being misallocated, he added.

To allow Germany to borrow more again, the Left Party also wants to reform the debt brake enshrined in the constitution. This would enable the modernization of crumbling infrastructure with an additional €200 billion. Financially ailing companies would also receive state support in exchange for long-term job guarantees and collective agreements, in addition to agreeing to keep their locations in Germany.

Clear stance against the far-right

The party also described the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as its main opponent in the Bundestag elections. "Not an inch for the fascists," van Aken said, highlighting how many left-wingers turned up in Riesa to demonstrate against the AfD party conference last week. "We on the left always oppose attempts to divide our society and incitement against migrants," van Aken said.

A former United Nations biological weapons inspector, van Aken also addressed Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine as a violation of international law: "We on the left are against all war and stand for peace," he said, but made a distinction between militarization and other potential routes to end the conflict. "We need more diplomacy in Ukraine, not more weapons," he said. "Without freedom and democracy in Ukraine, there will be no peace."

Elders to the rescue

Party patriarch Gregor Gysi received an enthusiastic reception at the conference. The Berliner just celebrated his 77th birthday last week and is once again running for a direct mandate, having won his constituency eight times already. Together with two other prominent Left Party elders, he has launched Mission Silberlocke ("Mission Silver Locks").

Their aim: to secure the Left Party's re-entry to the Bundestag even if it fails to reach the 5% hurdle by seizing on a detail of German electoral law, by which a party may still enter parliament with at least three direct mandates. The party already benefited from this rule in the 2021 Bundestag elections.

Gysi has no doubts about defending his mandate and hopes for a result of at least 5% for the party. Co-chair Ines Schwerdtner is also confident, despite the loss of many voters to the BSW following Sahra Wagenknecht's departure. "We want to win back all the voters who once voted for the Left Party," Schwerdtner told DW.

After years of internal disputes, the party is once again united and fighting for the same electoral goal. And Gysi also has a personal goal: If voters choose him once again, he would likely be the longest-serving member of the Bundestag—racking up 32 years, save for a brief interruption. His dream is to open the first session of the next German Bundestag with a speech as the Alterspräsident (president by seniority), a tradition that comes with freedom from both content and time limits.

This article was originally published in German.