Die Linke (The Left, Germany)

Ferat Kocak speaking

91自拍论坛鈥檚 Mary Merkenich recently spoke with Daniel Kipka-Anton from German left party Die Linke.

Ferat Kocak

Die Linke (The Left), Germany鈥檚 democratic socialist party, staged a huge upset in the capital, Berlin, winning 21.8% of the city鈥檚 vote in the February 23 elections. Marcel Cartier looks behind the party鈥檚 revival and the challenge in winning working-class support away from the far right.

crowd celebrates

Mary Merkenich looks at the good, bad and ugly aspects of the German federal election results.

Ukraine peace symbol

Two controversial German figures, Sarah Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer, released a Peace Manifesto on February 10, which gathered close to half a million of signatures in less than a week, reports Sibylle Kaczorek.

Berliners protest for Ukraine

Since Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine, European left parties have been debating their anti-war positions. Die Linke, Germany鈥檚 left party, is about to launch a new round of discussion ahead of its 2023 national congress, reports Sibylle Kaczorek.

The Social Democratic Party's platform to raise the minimum wage and for single-tier health insurance聽resonated with voters聽and contrasted with the left's failure. Sibylle Kaczorek reports.

In the aftermath of the recent racist attacks in Hanau, 91自拍论坛 spoke with Sibylle Kaczorek, an anti-racist activist based in Berlin, about its impacts on recent election results in Hamburg and the campaign against the far right.

The fear of collaboration by the so-called mainstream democratic parties with the far-right in Germany has been realised in the first such incident in post-war times, writes Sibylle Kaczorek.

One of two unnamed individuals who have been arrested in Germany for possession of weapons and a 鈥渒ill list鈥 of prominent left-wingers was a police officer, the Morning Star reported on August 29.

The pair had been discussing 鈥渞efugee and migration policy鈥, which they claimed would lead to the 鈥渃ollapse of public order,鈥 via聽online chat groups, the article said.

Just after midnight on July 27, a bomb exploded in the car of left-wing politician and refugee activist Michael Richter in the town of Freital on the outskirts of Dresden in eastern Germany. Richter, a 39-year old town councillor for the socialist party Die Linke (The Left) was not in the car. No one was harmed by the blast, which also damaged a nearby car. Police are yet to assign blame, but Richter is certain the attack came from right-wing groups in the area, who have threatened him repeatedly in recent months over his campaigning work for refugees.
Supporters of Die Linke (The Left) demonstrate in front of the Federal Chancellery, Berlin.

Protests took place in 14 cities in Germany on July 16 against the German government鈥檚 aggressive treatment of the Greek crisis and in solidarity with their European Mediterranean neighbours.

The largest anti-nuclear protests in German history were held on March 26. About 250,000 people marched in Germany鈥檚 four largest cities. Under the slogan 鈥淔ukushima Warns: Pull the Plug on all Nuclear Power Plants鈥, more than 120,000 took to the streets of Berlin, 50,000 in Hamburg, 40,000 in Koeln and upward of 40,000 marched in Muenchen. In state elections held the next day, the German Greens won a historic victory in Baden-Wuerttemberg. They will form Germany鈥檚 first-ever Green-led government. They also tripled their vote in elections in Rheinland-Pfalz.