Sunday 19 / January / 2025
Berlin: 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.
