{"id":14002,"date":"2025-05-25T23:32:06","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T03:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/?p=14002"},"modified":"2025-06-04T00:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T04:59:10","slug":"inside-die-linke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2025\/05\/inside-die-linke\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Die Linke<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sean Larson:<\/span> Until recently, Die Linke<\/em> appeared to be in decline. What led to Die Linke<\/em>‘s revival not just as a voting organization, but as a political party with now over 100,000 members? And what is the current situation within the party, months after the election?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frieda Holm:<\/span> After a period of stagnation, there was a long, existential debate within Die Linke <\/span><\/i>around <\/span>the question of Sarah Wagenknecht<\/span><\/a>, which culminated in Wagenknecht’s departure in the fall of 2023. After Wagenknecht left the party, we saw the first wave of people join <\/span>Die Linke<\/span><\/i>, even long-standing activists, who said that they felt that now after Wagenknecht and her racist politics were gone, now we can fight for <\/span>Die Linke<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n

From there, a strategic process began. As a result of that, Die Linke <\/span><\/i>launched a participatory offensive, conducted through the strengthened local structures, with a goal of aligning <\/span>Die Linke<\/span><\/i>\u2019s program with the main concerns people had. Our compass was: The party will not pull itself out of the crisis using its own resources. It needs new, motivated people with their own ideas. The party must open up by making a concrete offer to people to join in. It was the largest organizing campaign in the history of the party, attempting to build a model of <\/span>Die Linke <\/span><\/i>that relies on local activity, goes into the neighborhoods, and derives its priorities and platform from talking to people. This was the background when the snap elections were called.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During the federal election campaign, all parties other than Die Linke <\/span><\/i>\u00a0incited hatred against refugees, demanded tougher migration policies, border closures, and so on. Last year there was already a huge wave of protests against the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and their deportation plans. Previously, the Greens benefited from those protests, but now the Greens were part of the same dynamic and ultimately wanted to govern with the mainstream party of the right, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which meant that space was opened up for <\/span>Die Linke <\/span><\/i>\u00a0to lead as a consistent force on anti-fascism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So there was a subjective factor of strategic development in the party in terms of structures and the new profile, and also the dominant debates of the moment, both of which came together for the relative success of Die Linke <\/span><\/i>\u00a0in the elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The question remains, however, about whether this can lead to a different party that is sustainable in the medium or long-term. Die Linke <\/span><\/i>\u2019s slogan during the elections was \u201ceveryone wants to govern, we want change.\u201d The party framed politics as above versus below, and emphasized a class-political approach.\u00a0 And the question is, can we continue to maintain the clarity of making politics for and with the people down here against those up there?<\/span><\/p>\n

Or do we risk adapting to the very image of dominant politics that people on their doorsteps and in this campaign have often expressly rejected. They’re actually fed up with politics now because it’s being made from above and, ultimately, is not for them. So it\u2019s a question of how to make the innovations and political direction of the last year and a half sustainable.<\/p>\n