Dissolution because of Wagenknecht
Left-wing faction in the Bundestag “politically at the end”
November 7, 2023, 5:31 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Without the breakaways around Sahra Wagenknecht, the Left Party would have too few members of the Bundestag to continue to form a parliamentary group. The faction and party leadership are therefore preparing to handle it. This should also represent a new beginning.
The left-wing faction in the Bundestag wants to decide on its dissolution next week and then set a date for it. This was announced by parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch after a parliamentary group meeting in Berlin. The background is the break with Sahra Wagenknecht and nine other MPs. “We have decided that we will initiate liquidation next week,” said Bartsch. The date on which this liquidation will begin will then be determined. He can’t give a date yet: “Next Tuesday I can tell you when that will happen.”
Wagenknecht and nine other MPs declared their departure from the Left party about two weeks ago and announced that they would set up a competing project. Nevertheless, the ten MPs had requested to remain members of the left-wing faction for the time being. The group only wants to tolerate this for a short transition period. Without the ten MPs, the remaining 28 Left representatives in the Bundestag can only continue as a group, because the minimum size of 37 seats for a parliamentary group is missing.
Bartsch had already said “that the left-wing faction is politically finished” and concluded “that we will no longer be a faction in the German Bundestag in the foreseeable future.” Nevertheless, the Left will continue to be active in the Bundestag and represent left-wing politics even without parliamentary group status, Bartsch had previously emphasized: “The time of paralyzing self-employment must be over.”
Left leader Wissler: “No sustainable situation”
As a group, the Left would have fewer parliamentary rights and receive less state support. More than 100 employees must be laid off. The left-wing faction received around 11.5 million euros in state funding in 2022, according to a briefing from Bundestag President Bärbel Bas in September. The personnel expenses for parliamentary group employees are given at around 9.3 million euros.
Four out of ten MPs around former parliamentary group leader Sahra Wagenknecht, who left the Die Linke party, advocated at the meeting for their request to remain in the parliamentary group for the time being. About two weeks ago you announced that you were setting up a competing project. Nevertheless, they had requested to initially remain members of the left-wing faction. This should serve to ensure orderly processing, also with consideration for the parliamentary group employees, said MP Christian Leye. “We said from the beginning: We’re separating, but we’re separating like adults – no war of the roses.”
The party leadership would like to clear up the issue before the European Party conference begins on November 17th in Augsburg. “It is completely clear to me that this is of course not a tenable situation,” party leader Janine Wissler said on Monday. “We now have to make the transition happen as quickly as possible.” Wagenknecht and her supporters could form their own group after the separation.
The former parliamentary group leader confirmed the founding of the “Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance” around two weeks ago, which is set to become its own party at the beginning of 2024. According to surveys, this would have great voter potential. It is difficult to estimate whether it will make full use of it, especially since the program and personnel of the future party are open. The Left was meanwhile at 4 percent in the latest RTL/ntv trend barometer. She is hoping for a comeback after the end of the ongoing dispute with Wagenknecht.