The left allegedly overly favors its perspective excessively.
Tragedy at the Last Hour: The Left's Harmonious Position Crumbles
By Hubertus Volmer, Chemnitz
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The Left Party's conference in Chemnitz was supposed to be a peaceful affair, but old rifts kept resurfacing - antisemitism and Israel, armaments, and Russia. Even unity within the government is not a given for all Left Party members.
In the conference's final moments, the party leadership suffered a significant setback. A motion that party leader Jan van Aken openly opposed still managed to pass with a slender majority: 213 delegates voted for a resolution that officially aligns the Left Party with the controversial Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA).
While this may seem insignificant in the conference's chaotic atmosphere, it's a shocking development, even if it didn't seem so at the time. "A disastrous decision," commented Thuringia state parliamentarian Katharina König of the Left Party on Bluesky. This means, she said, that the majority has decided "that the Left Party no longer stands for #againstEveryAntisemitism."
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The JDA is contentious, and it's no surprise that van Aken opposed the motion. There are experts who view this declaration as trivialized antisemitism, which the proponents deny. They are primarily frustrated that their motion was once again quietly referred to committees.
Only 183 Delegates Side with Van Aken
Van Aken argues that the Left Party found a good compromise at last year's conference in Halle regarding the party's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proponents find this compromise insufficient. They claim they need "to create content clarity to refute false, defamatory accusations" against the Left Party.
Jan van Aken presents a brief counter-argument but does not delve deeper into the issue due to time constraints. "I'm against ending a scientific debate through a party conference resolution, we can't do that," he says. In the morning, the conference had paid tribute to the late Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer.
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Left Party MEP Özil Demirel-Böhlke strongly opposes van Aken, arguing that there is no scientific debate, only two competing definitions: the Jerusalem Declaration and the one by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Demirel-Böhlke asserts that, based on the IHRA, any criticism of the Israeli government can be reclassified as antisemitism. This is controversial but receives strong applause. In the digital vote, 183 delegates follow van Aken's appeal - not quite enough. 40 abstain. Many delegates have already left at this point.
About Definitions or Collaboration?
The debate is the climax of an underlying discussion that permeated the entire conference. Several delegates in Chemnitz wear a keffiyeh to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people, as they put it.
Not just Katharina Köönig, but other leftists are also aghast on Bluesky. It's not about definitions, writes former MP Martina Renner, but about being able to clear persons and groups of the charge of antisemitism to continue cooperating. Indeed, the Jerusalem Declaration contains no indication that denying Israel's right to exist is antisemitic.
The dispute over how to handle Israel and the Middle East conflict has been ongoing in the party for a long time, and it's increasingly leaning against Israel. Several prominent members have already left the Left over this issue, including former Berlin culture senator Klaus Lederer. He might not see much reason to return: On Tuesday, Left federal board member Ulrike Eifler posted a map of Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank on X, where Israel's borders were not recognizable. Two days later, the party executive distanced itself from "any call, statement, or visual representation that, under the guise of solidarity with the Palestinian population, negates the existence of Israel or promotes the elimination of Israel." (More on this here.)
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In Chemnitz, the party executive had already negotiated a Middle East resolution meant to calm nerves. It only quotes the accusation that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, but does not explicitly make this accusation itself. The resolution received a clear majority with the blessing of the party executive.
The Same Old Arguments
The relationship to Israel and the ongoing dispute over the antisemitism definition were just two aspects of the left's ongoing strife that flared up in Chemnitz. It was supposed to be a party conference of harmony, and for the most part, it was. The delegates celebrated their comeback in the federal election and promised each other that the success story would continue in the next year's elections.
"The first left mayor for Berlin, that's a goal," faction leader Heidi Reichinnek said in her speech on Friday. She listed all the upcoming elections: communal elections in North Rhine-Westphalia in September, state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate in March 2026. The Left has never been in parliament in both federal states, and the party leadership hopes that will change. Elections are also coming up in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
But the Left seems to be doing too well to avoid conflicts. The other points of contention are about the relationship to power, defense policy, and, connected to that, the relationship to Russia. Wiesbaden city councilor Brigitte Forßbohm said in the evening debate on Friday that she sees parts of the party "clinging persistently to beliefs that are increasingly detached from reality." This especially applies to questions of war and peace. "The repeated call for rearmament is overlooked, which has a real cause, namely the Russian invasion of Ukraine."
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While such positions are far from a majority within the Left Party, it was still surprising that they were openly expressed at all. On Saturday, the party conference unanimously rejected the reintroduction of conscription and other compulsory services.
A motion calling for the resignation of Left Party ministers and senators in the state governments of Bremen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern received much applause. "We are accountable to our class and the people, and we have no obligation towards a system we reject," said one of the proposers. Behind this is the rejection of "war credits"; several speakers drew a parallel to 1914. But there also seems to be a general rejection of government participation "under the conditions of capitalism" – a sentiment that likely only a minority supports. But it exists, and it's clearly heard.
Success is Shrouded in Doubt
Ines Schwerdtner, the party chair, delivered the counter-argument to the motion against the state associations of Bremen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. "Dear comrade, I agree with everything you've said in terms of content." She argued formally: The main motion had already decided that such a case should not happen again. Schwerdtner urged the party conference not to "set a precedent". This motion was rejected with 219 votes in favor, 192 against, and 39 abstentions.
In the end, all the long-standing conflicts were overshadowed, one could also say: buried. There was reliable applause for the familiar slogans. This will likely work for a while, especially since the many new members probably aren't initially interested in clarifying the old disputes—the party has doubled its membership to over 112,000 in just one and a half years, which is also part of the comeback. But will the dissent last? There's a question mark hanging over the success of the Left Party.
Source: ntv.de
- The Left Party
- Chemnitz
- Party Conference
- Jan van Aken
- Anti-Semitism
- Israel
- Anti-Semitism Accusations
- Ukraine
- Russia
- Compulsory Services
- Capitalism
- The Left Party's conference in Chemnitz, as Jan van Aken stated, encountered a significant setback when a motion aligning the party with the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism (JDA) passed, contrary to van Aken's opposition.
- Van Aken argues that the Left Party found a fair compromise on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the party's conference last year in Halle, but the proponents argue the compromise is insufficient.
- The debate regarding the Left Party's stance on Israel and the JDA reflects larger disagreements within the party, including views on Russia and defense policy, which were also discussed in Chemnitz.
- In the party conference, while there was strong support for reaffirming the Left Party's anti-war stance and rejecting compulsory services, there were also calls for the resignation of Left Party ministers and senators. This reflects a divide in the party, with some members rejecting government participation "under the conditions of capitalism."
