Germany’s left-wing party Die Linke is in decline, and many members understand that fundamental change is needed if it is even going to survive. Its weakness was brought into sharp relief during the 2021 elections, when it suffered a catastrophic defeat, falling under 5 percent support. If it weren’t for a few victories in local contests, Die Linke would have fallen out of the federal parliament, the Bundestag.
Since then, a number of analyses have been published by exponents of Die Linke’s various currents. In his contribution to this debate for the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation — Die Linke’s think tank — Carsten Braband shows that the Left’s electorate hasn’t just shrunk, but has also moved decidedly into the middle class.
Die Linke’s defeats aren’t just due to unfavorable circumstances, but also the result of its own strategic orientation. By pointing out these facts, Braband is busting two of the myths that hinder efforts to rebuild the party.
At the recent party conference in Halle, mentions of “class,” “class politics,” and “class perspective” earned roaring applause. But among the party intelligentsia, the question of whether Die Linke is still rooted in “class” is a hotly debated topic. This is at root an empirical question, so it’s surprising that there is such a slew of different answers. On closer inspection, it becomes clear that this controversy is in large part due to a reliance on different datasets, but also because the different sides of this debate use very different conceptual frameworks.
Last year,…
Auteur: Jonas Thiel
