Congratulations and a clear call to Die Linke

We congratulate Die Linke on their result of 8.8% in the Bundestag elections. We are encouraged by the presence of left-wing voices in the German parliament, in the face of 28.6% CDU/CSU and 20.8% AfD, which together account for a staggering 49.4% of the vote. We recognise this victory and call on Die Linke to take a clear stance, especially on the pressing issues of Palestine, the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Germany’s responsibility, but also to support resistance against the increasingly authoritarian German state and the ongoing militarisation of society. This is not only about fundamental questions of humanity and foreign policy, but also about the historical responsibility we face in Germany – never again must apply to everyone – especially now with the comeback of fascism.

Call for a clear and active stance

  • Against the systemic oppression of the Palestinians

There is a difference between taking an active stance and just reacting to demands or pressure. We call on Die Linke to name the genocide in Gaza, 76 years of systemic oppression of the Palestinians under settler colonialism and apartheid and the German government’s support for it. This must now finally happen in the Bundestag where, despite massacre after massacre in Gaza, there has been no clear positioning on the side of the oppressed. In addition, solidarity must be taken to the streets; statements on demand or on your homepage are worthless if the movement for solidarity with Palestine is then left alone on the streets. And: anti-colonialism and international solidarity belong at the centre of left-wing politics. Die Linke should work to ensure that Germany joins the Hague Group in order to revitalise international law and solidarity.

  • Against the increasingly authoritarian German state

There is a difference between trying to organise an event with UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and then being confronted by state violence, and simply standing up to the repression afterwards without actively doing anything. It is also about the party’s official political decisions. Die Linke’s abstention on the so-called antisemitism resolution, which criminalises solidarity with Palestine and attacks civil society and NGOs, is a clear attack on freedom of expression and academic freedom. There is also more support than opposition from Die Linke to the criminalisation of the peaceful BDS movement. Uncompromising support for anti-fascist resistance must also apply to comrades who campaign against complicity in genocide in Germany.

  • Against militarisation and warmongering

Die Linke is now back in the Bundestag and must not bow to pressure from the arms lobbies, but must take a firm stance against armament and arms exports, especially those in support of the genocide in Gaza, before even more Palestinians are brutally murdered. In the Bundestag, we expect this especially from the leadership, but currently Heidi Reichinnek’s X account, for example, contains no mention of Gaza. This is a huge problem in a country that is currently on trial at the International Court of Justice for its complicity in the genocide. Die Linke’s stance is isolated from the international left and this must change. Militarisation and warmongering can only be fought consistently in an internationalist manner, no funding for the military industrial complex, anywhere.

  • In favour of transitional demands to change ownership structures

If you want to change the situation in Germany, you have to start with ownership, because every year more capital is concentrated in the hands of the few, while the many have less and less due to price increases in all areas. In Berlin, for example, Die Linke made a significant contribution to this by selling thousands of flats to the capital (Deutsche Wohnen, now Vonovia) in the 2000s, in collaboration with Thilo Sarrazin and the SPD. When Berliners then voted 60% in favour of expropriating these flats and returning them to the hands of the many in the Deutsche Wohnen and Co. expropriation referendum (DWE), Die Linke, in cooperation with the SPD and the Greens, made this project disappear into a drawer. Ownership, including in Big Tech, must be distributed to the many, democracy in the workplace must be introduced and Die Linke should side with the many, not with capital.

  • Against deportations and racism

The left did not jump on the bandwagon of the racist anti-migration campaign of the other established parties, which was a good thing. Now it must implement this stance consistently. No more participation in deportations as part of state governments, such as in Thuringia with Bodo Ramelow, and a reappraisal of internal problems: By kicking out members (e.g. the Palestinian Ramsis Kilani) or, as in Saxony, actively acting against the Palestine Solidarity Movement, Die Linke is normalising systematic and institutionalised anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism in Germany. Those who do not correct this are not uncompromisingly on the side of the oppressed.

We call on Die Linke to show active solidarity with the Palestinians and the anti-genocide movement in Germany, which is facing unprecedented authoritarian and fascist attacks. The mainstream consensus on genocide represented by the centrist and right-wing parties and the next government must be opposed. In the face of the worst crimes against humanity, this is the least we expect from Die Linke – uncompromising opposition to authoritarianism, militarism and the united oligarchy. You have won a victory, now it’s time to take a stand!

 

Do you want to be informed of DiEM25's actions? Sign up here

Congratulations and a clear call to Die Linke

We congratulate Die Linke on their result of 8.8% in the Bundestag elections. We are encouraged by the presence of left-wing voices in the ...

Read more

March 7, Brussels: The battle for Europe’s future starts now – Yanis Varoufakis, Katie Halper, Grace Blakeley, and Melanie Schweizer

We will not only expose the continent’s political and economic failures but also demand a radical transformation towards a Europe that seizes ...

Read more

EVENT: Brussels, March 7 — WTF happened to Europe? How we lost it and what we must do

Join us at the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles on Friday, March 7, 2025, at 19:15 CET for a powerful evening of truth-telling, resistance, ...

Read more