The Last Minute Drama: The Left's Splits Still Linger
The Political Left Appears Overly Influential and Powerful
In Chemnitz, The Left's party conference was intended to be a harmonious event, but old conflicts still bubbled to the surface: antisemitism and Israel, armament, and Russia. Even agreement on governance isn't guaranteed for all Leftists.
At the close of the conference, the party leadership suffered a clear defeat. A motion, against which party leader Jan van Aken strongly objected, still found a narrow majority: 213 delegates voted for a resolution officially placing The Left behind the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism.
While this may seem inconsequential in the chaos of the conference, it's quite scandalous. "A disastrous resolution," commented the Thuringian state parliamentarian of The Left, Katharina König, on Bluesky. With this vote, the majority seemed to overlook The Left's stance against #everyAntisemitism.
Politics in Play: Van Aken at the Party Conference
The Jerusalem Declaration is contentious, and it's no surprise that van Aken opposed the motion. Some experts view this declaration as a trivialization of antisemitism. The proposers reject this, but they are upset that their motion was repeatedly sent to committees without further ado.
Van Aken contends that The Left found a fair compromise last year at the Halle conference about positioning in the Middle East conflict. These opponents find this inadequate. They want to "create content clarity to refute false, defaming accusations" against The Left, one of them says.
Jan van Aken provides a brief counter-argument, but there's no real discussion, as there's no time for it. "I'm against ending a scientific debate through a party conference resolution, we can't do that," he says, declining to delve deeper.
Antisemitism or Cooperation?
The debate highlights an underlying discussion that runs throughout the conference. Several delegates in Chemnitz wear a kufiya to express solidarity with the Palestinian people, as they put it.
Not just Katharina König, but other leftists are also taken aback on Bluesky. It's not about definitions, writes former MP Martina Renner, but about being able to clear individuals and groups from the charge of antisemitism to continue cooperating. The dispute over how to deal with Israel and the Middle East conflict has been brewing in the party for quite some time now, increasingly with a prejudice against Israel.
The Middle East Compromise Paper
In Chemnitz, the party executive had already negotiated a Middle East resolution intended to calm nerves. It only quotes the accusation that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip, without explicitly making the accusation itself.
In this debate, delegate Hana Qetinaj from Frankfurt am Main, one of the applicants, declares, "The Israeli government and its henchmen must be held accountable." The Left has lost credibility in this question, she complains. "A false relativization during a genocide does not do justice to what is happening there." With the blessing of the party executive, the paper receives a clear majority.
The Same Old Causes of Division
The relationship with Israel and the dispute over the antisemitism definition were just two aspects of the ongoing division that flared up in Chemnitz. It was meant to be a congress of unity and harmony, and for the most part, it was. The delegates celebrated their return in the federal election and assured one another that the winning streak would continue in the upcoming elections.
"Berlin's first left mayor, that's a goal," faction leader Heidi Reichinnek called out in her speech on Friday. She lists all the upcoming elections: September's local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, March 2026's state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the coming year.
The Left seems to be doing too well to do without conflicts. The other points of contention involve the relationship with power, defense policy, and, connected to that, the relationship with Russia. A delegate from Hesse said in the evening debate on Friday that she sees "a chronic clinging to beliefs that are increasingly detached from reality" in some parts of the party, especially when it comes to questions of war and peace. "The repeated calls for rearmament have a real cause, namely the Russian invasion of Ukraine."
"A System that We Reject"
While such positions are far from being 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 demanding the resignation of The Left's party ministers and senators in the state governments of Bremen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern received much applause. "We have no responsibility towards a system that we reject," said one of the proposers. Behind this is the rejection of "war credits"; several speakers drew a parallel to 1914. But it seems that not everyone is on the same page, as demonstrated in the debates over antisemitism and cooperation with Israel.
In the end, all the long-standing conflicts were brushed aside, one could also say: papered over. There was reliable applause for the familiar slogans. However, the question mark over The Left Party's success still lingers.
Source: ntv.de
- The Left Party
- Chemnitz
- Party Conference
- Jan van Aken
- Antisemitism
- Israel
- Anti-Semitism
Enrichment Data:
In 2018, a delegation of 10 members of The Left Party attended the opening ceremony for a controversial Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. Critics argue that this can be seen as supporting the Israeli government and conflating its policies with the memory of the Holocaust. In regard to armaments, The Left Party has been vocal in its assertion that Germany should not arm those engaged in conflicts, such as in Yemen[1]. On the relationship with Russia, The Left Party generally advocates for improved relations with Moscow and criticizes the NATO alliance's expansion eastward[1]. It's worth noting that these are just a few viewpoints and not necessarily the party line.
[1] Politico, "The Left party: leftist, populist and Russophile," (2018), accessed on March 31, 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/left-party-germany-mlpd-elections-populists-russophiles/
- The Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism, which was officially endorsed by a narrow majority at The Left's party conference in Chemnitz, has caused concern among some party members over the potential trivialization of antisemitism.
- The debate over The Left's stance on Israel and the Middle East conflict, as seen during the conference in Chemnitz, highlighted ongoing divisions within the party that have been brewing for some time.
- In the discussion regarding defense policy and the relationship with Russia, a delegate from Hesse expressed concerns about a "chronic clinging to beliefs that are increasingly detached from reality" in some parts of the party, particularly in relation to questions of war and peace.
- Despite the surfacing of these divisions during the party conference in Chemnitz, The Left Party remains committed to its goal of expanding its influence, as evidenced by party leader Heidi Reichinnek's call for victory in upcoming elections. However, the question mark over The Left Party's success still lingers.
