“Ghost Ride of Leadership”
Rackete’s nomination enrages left-wing politicians
08/05/2023 2:37 p.m
The refugee helper Rackete is not a party member – but is nominated as the left’s top candidate for the European elections. This provokes resentment within the left. For example, Ernst, a member of the Bundestag, complains that Rackete’s positions are “hardly compatible with the program of the left.”
The nomination of the captain and refugee helper Carola Rackete as the top left-wing candidate for the European elections caused trouble within the party. “The proposal by the party executive to proclaim the non-party Carola Rackete as the top candidate for the European elections, bypassing all party bodies, further proves the ghost journey of the political leadership of the left,” said Klaus Ernst, a member of the Bundestag for the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”.
“According to the statutes, it is not the executive board that is responsible for the selection of candidates, but the federal committee,” said former Left Party chairman Ernst. “This proposal further divides the party. That also seems to be the goal of the party executive.” Immediately after her nomination, Rackete held her own press conference, “with positions that are hardly compatible with the program of the left”.
Rackete’s candidacy also met with reluctance from other leftists. Some of the Left-wing supporters advocate a more restrictive refugee policy. According to party circles, Rackete will put off these potential voters and possibly drive them into the hands of the AfD.
The top of the Left Party is under pressure because of poor election results and poll numbers as well as because of the ongoing dispute with the former parliamentary group leader Sahra Wagenknecht. The former Left Chairman Ernst had sided with Wagenknecht.
Party congress has last word
The left wants to go into the European elections with a top four team, including Rackete. She is to take second place after party leader Martin Schirdewan, currently leader of the Left Party in the European Parliament. The Left Party Congress in November has the last word.
Rackete became internationally known in 2019 when she sailed to the island of Lampedusa with refugees rescued from distress at sea, despite a ban by the Italian authorities. Criminal proceedings followed, but were discontinued in 2021.