Posted on April 2, 2014 by Chris Terry
Die Linke (literally ‘The Left’). Die Linke is Germany’s newest parliamentary party. The party was formed from a merger between two left-wing parties, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative (WASG)
The PDS was the legal successor of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), the former East Germany’s ruling communist party. The party continued to retain significant popularity in the East, winning up to a quarter of the vote in some Lander. The party’s support was negligible in the West, however, and the party won seats in the Bundestag because of the mixed nature of Germany’s electoral system. [...] The party was controversial in Germany for its links to the former communist regime, with leading members, including its leader, Lothar Bisky, accused of being connected to the Stasi (East Germany’s notorious secret police force, Bisky was an informer).
The WASG was launched as a left-wing alternative to the SPD in 2005 in the wake of the controversy over the Agenda 2010 reforms. The party was boosted when it was joined by the former SPD leader, Chancellor-candidate, Saarland premier and finance minister Oskar Lafontaine later that year. Lafontaine was finance minister ... clashed personally with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. He resigned from cabinet and his party positions in 1999. ... critiqued the party’s centrist course under Schroeder. Lafontaine became co-leader of Die Linke, with the former PDS leader, Lothar Bisky.
Die Linke campaigned on a platform of opposition to economic liberalism in all its forms. Anti-capitalist, the party has a somewhat left-populist orientation. The party has attracted as a pole of attraction for far-left activists and the party has several ‘internal caucuses’ which vary from left-wing social democrats through to Communist and Anarchist factions. In several areas the party has run in alliance with far-left parties such as the German Communist Party. These links to the far-left have led to sections of the party, including around a third of MPs, being under observation by the Verfassungsschutz, Germany’s domestic security agency, which is charged with observing potential threats to the German constitution. [What happened to democracy?]
The party is deeply controversial amongst Germans for this reason, and although a left-wing SPD-Linke-Green coalition was theoretically a possibility in 2013, polls showed that SPD supporters actually preferred a grand coalition with the right-wing CDU. Bad blood between the SPD and former SPD members, such as Lafontaine, also complicate relations.
Die Linke is generally held to divide along East/West lines itself. In the East, where it is stronger, and descended from the SED, the party has a more pragmatic, social democratic profile.
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In several East German states, CDU/SPD anti-Linke coalitions are common. The party’s Western component is generally formed by activists originating from the far-left and is perceived as much more extreme and radical.
As an illustration of these tensions the party’s East German former co-leader, Gregor Gysi, was shown by a wikileaks leak of a diplomatic cable to have told the US ambassador that the party’s official policy of opposition to NATO was principally a ruse to keep the left of his party happy.
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Nonetheless, with the collapse of the FDP and the formation of the grand coalition, Die Linke is now Germany’s largest opposition party.
While the party takes some support from the CDU, it is principally a headache for the SPD and Greens.
Since its arrival on the scene in 2005 the federal government has seen one right-wing government (2009-2013) and two grand coalitions, (2005-2009 and 2013 onwards). With Die Linke taking significant votes on the left and remaining beyond the pale for coalition it sometimes seems the best the German centre-left can hope for is a junior role in coalitions with the CDU.
Die Linke claims to broadly support European integration, but opposes what it seems as neoliberal EU policies, it also seeks to democratise the EU.
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http://europe.demsoc.org/2014/04/02/die-linke/
