The left calls for Sahra Wagenknecht to return her political mandates. For years there has been a dispute between Wagenknecht and the party leadership, whether it be about migration, Corona or the Russian war of aggression. But she also has supporters.
The Left Council broke with German Bundestag member Sahra Wagenknecht and asked her and her campaign companions to return their mandates. “It is a requirement of political decency and justice towards the members of our party that those who participate in the project of a competing party are consistent and return their mandates,” said a decision by the party executive on Saturday.
Wagenknecht has long toyed with the idea of founding a new party. The party leadership has repeatedly sharply criticized this. “The future of the left is a future without Sahra Wagenknecht,” continues the council’s resolution. It is unacceptable that she uses resources from mandates she won for the left to build a competing party. Wagenknecht has repeatedly stated that she sees no prospects for the left. “To date, she has not responded to a request to clearly distance herself from a competing party project.”
She wants to decide for herself by the end of the year.
The former Wagenknecht faction leader only confirmed on Friday that she wants to decide on her future on the left and a possible founding of the party by the end of the year. She had already declared that she would no longer run for the Bundestag on the left. On Saturday, when questioned, she did not want to comment publicly on the party executive’s decision.
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Party leader Janine Wissler said the council was fighting for party unity and against all attempts to divide it. Minority opinions would be respected. “However, we hope that the party’s democratic decisions will be taken seriously and observed and not that there will be threats to found a party to put the party in a different direction from the bodies that democratically decided on party congresses.” The board’s decision was approved unanimously.
In “The Self-Righteous” Wagenknecht settled scores
There had been a dispute over key positions between Wagenknecht and the party leadership and other members for years. In refugee policy, she spoke out against opening borders; she has expressed skepticism about vaccination during the Corona period; in her book “The Self-Righteous” Wagenknecht has evened things out with the gender and climate-related part of her party, and when it comes to Ukraine, she also offends with her course, which some consider too close to Russia.
However, Wagenknecht also has supporters in the party and parliamentary group. The head of the left-wing parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Amira Mohamed Ali, criticized her party council’s decision. “I consider today’s decision by the Die Linke party executive to be a big mistake and unworthy of a party committed to solidarity and plurality,” she wrote on Twitter late on Saturday. “We have an important task to our constituents and all people who have no voice without us. Taking council decisions against the members themselves and speaking in public is not one of them!” Mohamed Ali leads the parliamentary group together with Dietmar Bartsch.
“Wagenknecht is more popular than the party”
Bochum MP Christian Leye, a former employee of Wagenknecht’s electoral office, said on Saturday: “Sahra Wagenknecht is many times more popular than the party, and today’s maneuver is another step towards the abyss.” to think why less and less people are interested in this party, you keep working on one of the few popular politicians in your own ranks.
The left has 39 deputies in the Bundestag. In the 2021 federal elections, she lost the five percent barrier and only managed to enter through three directly won terms. After that, the party suffered some bitter defeats in every state election. (APA)