Lively Left Party Conference: Harmony and Dissent in War and Peace Discussions
Progressive Factions Debate Over Conflict and Harmony - It's Election Time
By Hubertus Volmer, Chemnitz
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At the Left Party's conference in Chemnitz, the atmosphere is lively, with clear majorities and thunderous cheers - sometimes. Yet, beneath the surface, significant differences persist on critical matters. But these dissimilarities remain largely inconsequential.
The conference chair is taken aback as the Left Party's conference in Chemnitz concludes the debate on the main motion an hour ahead of schedule. In this motion, the party leadership outlines their vision for ensuring long-term success following the federal election.
Attendees generally express satisfaction with their leadership, as the enthusiastic applause in the multipurpose hall earlier in the afternoon demonstrates. Faction leader Heidi Reichinnek is warmly welcomed by the delegates. "It's such a damn good feeling to have triumphed again," she exclaims to her party. "Now they're freaking out, all those big shots, all those rich people, the Springer press," she adds, earning hearty applause from the party.
"Revolutionary Empathy"
Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner speaks more conciliatory than Reichinnek in tone but not in substance. She too advocates for "overcoming an economic order that enslaves people." She urges the party to practice empathy with each other as there are already enough attacks from external sources. Schwerdtner appeals for "revolutionary empathy" from the delegates.
She may well have Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bremen, the Left state associations in power, on her mind, as well as the criticism within the party of their states' votes for constitutional amendments on the debt brake and special assets. On Tuesday, the Left in the Bundestag once again enabled CDU leader Friedrich Merz to be elected as chancellor in a second round of votes.
Unyielding Opposition to the CDU
Schwerdtner makes her stance abundantly clear: there is no ideological rapprochement between the Left and the CDU. "They despise our people, and that's why we despise their politics," she says of Merz and CDU general secretary Carsten Linnemann. The Union came to the Left in the Bundestag "because we had become too powerful, because they had to." In an interview with ntv on the sidelines of the party conference, Schwerdtner asserted the Left did not want "the AfD to benefit from many days of uncertainty." Moreover, the CDU should realize: "They can't get past the Left."
Capitalism Should Not Remain Governable
The party conference remains harmonious, yet some sharp criticism surfaces here and there. A party leadership member queries why the Left in the Bundestag "had to help Blackrock-Merz" become elected as chancellor. To the state associations of Bremen and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, she says, "It's not our job to ensure that capitalism remains governable by bourgeois parties."
A delegate from Frankfurt am Main suggests it would have been nice if Germany had lived without a king for three days. "That would have been a small tremor in the great earthquake called capitalism." The approval of the state governments of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Bremen for the "war credits" - she means the reform of the debt brake for defense spending - is "equivalent to facilitating entry into war."
The term "war credits" serves as a reminder of 1914, and that's the intention. Back then, Karl Liebknecht, still a party icon today, voted against war credits for World War I in the Reichstag. For many in the hall, 1914 remains a central reference point. No one is defending the two northern state associations.
Aiming for an Organizing Class Party
There is no clear contradiction with the basic goal of the party leadership. The Left should become "an organizing class party," as the guiding motion states. In other words, "We want to launch a comprehensive educational program to enhance the campaign capability of the party," as Schwerdtner explains in an interview with ntv.de.
However, a number of amendment motions expose internal debates. These are the age-old disputes within the Left: the question of whether leftists should govern or be limited to opposition, or the relationship with Russia. The Anticapitalist Left faction proposes that the Left should be "opposition and only more so in a few exceptional cases."
War and Peace Discussion: Majority, but no Consensus
The saved time is utilized to discuss an application regarding war and peace that was originally scheduled for Saturday. The party board has collated four separate motions into a compromise. This is a common practice at party conferences, also in other parties. Nevertheless, there are disagreements in Chemnitz.
The application, among other things, demands: "Without equivocation: Reject armament and war preparedness!" A delegate voices concerns about this stance. As the world armaments race intensifies, the Left wants to disarm unilaterally, effectively rendering itself impotent to aid anyone in any capacity. "For a party that seeks peace, this is a catastrophe." "In a time when 'creating peace without weapons' doesn't work because individual major players don't want to play along, we unfortunately need a potential that ensures we are not attacked and don't have to defend ourselves," she adds, garnering applause. Louder applause follows the call for "butter instead of guns."
An Evening of Controversy and Compromise
Another delegate asserts the Left is "a peace party because it is a socialist party." They also reference Karl Liebknecht. The global situation has changed since then, but what hasn't changed is "that we die in their wars." They express solidarity "with the Ukrainian women and men" and "with the Russian women and men who don't want to die in the war." Hearty applause ensues for this statement as well.
Early conclusions, however, are deceptive. The Left Party conference is, in essence, a celebration of self-affirmation. Exclamations like "Long live international solidarity," "Never again war, never again fascism," or "Class struggle is anti-racism" are met with consistent applause. The debate resumes on Saturday.
Source: ntv.de
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- The Commission has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the incompatibility of parties, such as the Left Party, in the context of WhatsApp usage during war-and-conflicts and general news politics.
- Despite the lively atmosphere at the Left Party Conference in Chemnitz, significant disagreements persist on matters like the compatibility of parties during war-and-conflicts, with some delegates expressing concerns that unilateral disarmament could render the Left impotent to aid anyone.
- In an interview, Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner mentioned the criticism within the party of their states' votes for constitutional amendments on the debt brake and special assets, analogizing these votes to facilitating entry into war – a reference that echoes the historical term "war credits."
- During the debate on war and peace, a delegate proposed that the Left should be "opposition and only more so in a few exceptional cases," advocating for a more focused opposition stance rather than potential governing roles, a viewpoint that may reflect differences within the Left on the question of whether leftists should govern or be limited to opposition.