Thursday, October 28, 2021
Climate change costs
Left wants to grab traffic lights at the social
The left is working on its disastrous result in the federal election. After a two-day retreat, the parliamentary group leaders Ali and Bartsch explain how the party intends to position itself against a possible traffic light government in the future.
The left-wing parliamentary group in the Bundestag wants to focus more on its brand core again. “We will certainly accompany and support the traffic light coalition in some areas, but above all we will be the social opposition in the German Bundestag,” said parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch at the end of the two-day retreat of the Bundestag group. In all upcoming political decisions, the social aspect must be given more consideration. “Pensioners and employees shouldn’t be the first to pay for climate change,” emphasized Bartsch.
The left slipped from 9.2 to 4.9 percent in the federal election more than four weeks ago. It is only thanks to Gregor Gysi, Gesine Lötzsch and Sören Pellmann, who won their constituencies directly, that the party is still represented in parliament with factions. With at least three direct mandates, the five percent hurdle is bypassed and a party gets seats in the Bundestag after its second vote result. The new parliamentary group still has 39 members – 69 in the previous legislative period.
Co-parliamentary group leader Amira Mohamed Ali admitted in Leipzig that recently “it has not become clear what the left stands for. We have to improve in order to be noticed about our core issues.” The role of the left is to ensure that important issues such as digitization and climate change are carried out in a socially and affordable way. Energy prices are currently exploding and the situation of millions of people in Germany is threatening in view of a cold winter, explained Mohamed Ali.