Left-leaning factions debate war and peace, leading up to the decisive ballot
Rewritten Article:
By Hubertus Volmer, Chemnitz
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At the Left Party congress in Chemnitz, the atmosphere is vibrant, decisions are decisive, and applause is booming, but scratch the surface, and differences arise on pivotal issues. Some controversies remain untouched.
The conference moderator is taken aback late in the afternoon: The Left Party congress in Chemnitz ends the heated debate on the main motion an hour earlier than expected. The party leadership has presented a blueprint on how the Left could be perpetually successful post-federal election.
Upon first glance, the delegates seem quite content with their leadership, as the enthusiastic applause in the multi-purpose hall in the early afternoon indicates. Heidi Reichinnek, the faction leader, is particularly celebrated by the delegates. "It's simply wonderful to have triumphed once again," she exclaims to her party. Better than her fellow leadership members, Reichinnek embodies the revolutionary image that resonates well with the attendees: "Now they're scared, all these big shots, all the rich folks, Springer press," she shouts. The crowd goes wild.
United but Not Unanimous
The jovial mood is understandable: Rather than barely scraping into the Bundestag with three direct mandates, the party gained six direct mandates and nearly nine percent in the February election. This was a stunning comeback.
"Revolutionary Kindness"
Party leader Ines Schwerdtner is less bellicose in tone than Reichinnek, but her message remains unchanged. Speaking of "overcoming an economic order that oppresses people," she appeals to the party to refrain from becoming too engrossed in contentious debate. Instead, the party should extend solidarity to one another, as there are already enough attacks from the outside. Schwerdtner advocates for "revolutionary kindness" from the delegates.
She might be pondering last Tuesday, as well as the internal criticism within the party of the Left state associations in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bremen. There, the party governs, but hasn't prevented its states from voting in the Bundesrat for the constitutional amendments on the debt brake and the special assets. On Tuesday, the Left in the Bundestag helped make it possible for the CDU's Friedrich Merz to be elected chancellor in a second round of voting.
The Left Party Leader: "CDU Should Realize: They Can't Get Past the Left"
Schwerdtner is candid about the lack of substantial rapprochement between the Left and the CDU: "They despise our people, and therefore we contempt their politics," she says of Merz and the CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann. The Union approached the Left in the Bundestag "because we had become too strong, because they had to." In an interview with ntv on the sidelines of the congress, Schwerdtner reveals that the Left did not desire "the AfD to benefit from many days of uncertainty." Furthermore, the CDU should understand: "They can't get past the Left."
There is no open dispute at the congress, but there is some sharp criticism. A party leadership member rebukes the Left in the Bundestag for aiding "this Blackrock-Merz" to become chancellor. To the state associations in Bremen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, she declares, "It's not our job to ensure that capitalism remains governable by the bourgeois parties."
Party Delegate from Frankfurt am Main says it would have been nice if Germany had a three-day reign without a king. "That would have been a small tremor in the great earthquake that is capitalism." The approval of the state governments in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bremen for the "war credits" – she means the reform of the debt brake for defense spending – is "functionally equivalent to enabling entry into war."
The term "war credits" evokes memories of 1914, and that is the intention. Back then, Karl Liebknecht, still a party icon today, voted against war credits in the Reichstag during the First World War. For many in the hall, 1914 still represents a significant point of reference. No one is defending the two northern state associations.
Politics | Interview with Left Party leader "Friedrich Merz is the enemy class"
Is governing under capitalism permissible?
There is no disagreement concerning the basic objective of the party leadership. The Left Party should transform into "a coordinating class party," according to the guiding motion. This suggests: "We want to launch a comprehensive educational program to enhance the election capability of the party," as Schwerdtner clarifies in an interview with ntv.de.
However, a number of amendment motions reveal that there are disputes in the details. These are the age-old debates inside the Left Party: the question of whether leftists should govern or focus solely on opposition, and the relationship with Russia. The Anticapitalist Left faction within the party proposes that the Left Party should be "opposition and only more so in a few exceptional cases."
And then it's about war and peace
In the evening, the saved time is utilized to discuss an application on war and peace that was supposed to be addressed on Saturday. The party executive has merged four different applications into a compromise proposal. This is standard practice at party conferences, also in other parties. Nevertheless, there are debates in Chemnitz.
The application, among other things, demands: "Without hesitation: Abstain from armament and war preparations!" A delegate challenges this. The world is embroiled in an arms race, and the Left proposes unilateral disarmament, resulting in us being "completely incapable of helping anyone at all" in a time when peace can't be created without weapons because influential actors don't cooperate. "In such a situation, we unfortunately require a potential that ensures we aren't attacked and don't have to defend ourselves," concludes the delegate. The statement draws applause. A louder applause, however, follows the call for "butter over guns."
A Majority, but no Consensus
Another delegate asserts that the Left is a peace party because it is a socialist party. She also references Karl Liebknecht. The world scenario has changed since then, but what remains unchanged is "that we perish in their wars." Then she expresses solidarity "with the Ukrainian men and women" and "with the Russian men and women who don't want to perish in the war." This, too, receives strong applause.
Early on Saturday morning, the fight over war and peace continues.
[1] Enrichment Data: Die Linke, a left-wing German political party, faces internal conflicts regarding its stance on the Ukraine war and Germany’s sanctions and weapons policies. The party maintains internal diversity, with a majority in the Bundestag supporting tough sanctions against Russia but opposing weapons exports to Ukraine, while a significant minority advocates for diplomatic solutions to the war. This internal plurality allows the party to accommodate opposing views.
[2] Enrichment Data: The European Left, of which Die Linke is a member, emphasizes peace but criticizes the EU’s exclusive reliance on military victory in the Ukraine conflict. The EL condemns Russia’s aggression but advocates realistic diplomacy instead. The EL stresses a consensus principle in decision-making, but it is a subject of ongoing discussion, reflecting the importance of trust and compromise among members to maintain unity.
- The Commission has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the regulation of WhatsApp in relation to war-and-conflicts politics, particularly in light of the general news surrounding the Left Party's stance on war and peace.
- Despite the Left Party's success in the latest election, garnering six direct mandates and nearly nine percent of the vote, disagreements arise on pivotal issues like leftist governance versus constant opposition, even in cities like Chemnitz.
- During the Left Party congress, Ines Schwerdtner, the party leader, urged for "revolutionary kindness" among delegates, prominently showing her stance against the CDU's Friedrich Merz, stating that the CDU should realize they can't get past the Left.
- Amid debates over war and peace, a delegate from the Left Party argued that a potential for self-defense is necessary in an arms race situation, despite advocating for peace, drawing applause from some but criticism from those advocating for unilateral disarmament and cooperation.
