The Left (Germany)

The Left
Die Linke
Chairpersons
Deputy Chairpersons
SecretaryJanis Ehling
Founded16 June 2007 (2007-06-16)
Merger ofPDS
WASG
HeadquartersKarl-Liebknecht-Haus Kleine Alexanderstraße 28 D-10178 Berlin
Think tankRosa Luxemburg Foundation
Student wingDie Linke.SDS
Youth wingLeft Youth Solid
Membership (July 2024)Increase 52,000[1]
IdeologyDemocratic socialism
Left-wing populism
Political positionLeft-wing[A][2]
European affiliationParty of the European Left
European Parliament groupThe Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL
Colours  Red (official)[a]
  Purple (customary)[b]
Bundestag
28 / 736
Bundesrat
4 / 69
State Parliaments
92 / 1,894
European Parliament
3 / 96
Heads of State Governments
1 / 16
Party flag
Website
en.die-linke.de Edit this at Wikidata

^ A: A broad left-wing party, it has also been described as far-left by some news outlets.

The Left (German: Die Linke), commonly referred to as the Left Party (German: Die Linkspartei [diː ˈlɪŋkspaʁˌtaɪ] ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative. Through the PDS, the party is the direct descendant of the Marxist–Leninist ruling party of former East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED).[5] Since October 2024, The Left's co-chairpersons have been Ines Schwerdtner and Jan van Aken. The party holds 28 seats out of 736 in the Bundestag, the federal legislature of Germany, having won 4.9% of votes cast in the 2021 German federal election. Its parliamentary group is the second-smallest of seven in the Bundestag, and is headed by parliamentary co-leaders Heidi Reichinnek and Sören Pellmann.

The Left is represented in eight of Germany's sixteen state legislatures, including all five of the eastern states. As of 2021, the party participates in governments in the states of Bremen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as a junior partner, as well as in Thuringia, where it leads a coalition with the Social Democratic Party and The Greens headed by Minister-President Bodo Ramelow. The Left is a founding member of the Party of the European Left, and is the third-largest party in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament. In December 2022, The Left had 54,214[6] registered members, making it the sixth-largest party in Germany by membership, this decreased further to 50,251 members in December 2023.[7] The Left promotes left-wing populism, anti-fascism and anti-militarism, and is neutral on European integration.

In late 2023, prominent member Sahra Wagenknecht and several supporters split from the party and formed Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, resulting in the dissolution of The Left's official faction in the Bundestag.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tagesschau 24-07-16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Raphaël Fèvre, ed. (2021). A Political Economy of Power: Ordoliberalism in Context, 1932-1950. Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-197-60780-0. This reference to ordoliberalism has also resonated across the wide spectrum of German politics— albeit in a spirit of opposition to the CDU— from left-wing party leaders of Die Linke to the far-right of Alternative für Deutschland
  3. ^ "Bundestagswahl 2013". Bundestagswahl 2021 (in German). 9 October 2013. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Bundestagswahl 2021". Bundeswahlleiter (in German). Federal Returning Officer. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  5. ^ Tangian, Andranik (2013). Mathematical Theory of Democracy. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 321. ISBN 978-3-642-38724-1.
  6. ^ "Mitgliederzahlen 2022: DIE LINKE". Die Linke (in German). Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Mitgliederzahlen 2023". Retrieved 9 September 2024.


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