Germany German Left promises "clear voice against shift to the right"

The Left Party in Germany wants to gain a new profile with strict opposition to the "traffic light" government and the other parties in the Bundestag and find a way out of its deep crisis.

"We need a left-wing party in tune with the times that is truly recognizable as an opposition to the traffic light government and as a clear voice against this shift to the right," said outgoing party chairwoman Janine Wissler on the sidelines of the federal party conference, which began this afternoon in Halle in Saxony-Anhalt.

Her co-chair Martin Schirdewan said: "I am pretty sure that we will succeed in sending a signal of departure here, also a signal that we are ready to take on this confrontation, this fight." He is leaving with "combative melancholy", said Schirdewan, who is retiring from office with Wissler. Former member of the Bundestag Jan van Aken and journalist Ines Schwerdtner are standing for election on Saturday as his successor.

Difficult debate on the Middle East conflict expected

Prior to this, a difficult debate on the Middle East conflict and anti-Semitism in Germany is expected on Friday evening. A state party conference in Berlin ended in a scandal a few days ago because of these issues. A compromise motion has now been negotiated behind the scenes to avoid an open rift.

"We have now done everything we can to ensure that there is a motion that is supported by a broad majority," said Wissler. "I am confident that it will be passed." It was not initially known what the motion would contain.

The Left Party's declared aim is to return to the Bundestag as a parliamentary group after the next election. However, it is currently polling at just three to four percent nationwide. The party performed very poorly in the European elections in June and in the state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg.

The Left Party emerged from the former GDR state party SED. It still has its strongholds in the east of the republic, but has recently been considerably weakened by the split of the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance (BSW). In September, it was kicked out of an East German state parliament in Brandenburg for the first time.