Die Linke's Oskar Lafontaine: "Yes, good evening everyone"

[Die Neue Zeit]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,646011,00.html


In the western German state of Saarland, Sunday's election provided a boost to the smaller parties -- the Left Party gained massively and the Green Party looks set to be the spoiler in determining the next government there. The political poker taking place in the state could have broad implications for national politics in Germany.

Left Party leader Oskar Lafontaine only managed to utter four words before the crowd of supporters drowned him out in cheers: "Yes, good evening everyone." The 65-year-old politician was just greeting the crowd, but in fact he was giving them a lot more -- an unprecedented election victory that many even in his own party didn't even believe could happen.

The left-wing party scored 21.3 percent of the vote in elections for the state parliament in Saarland on Sunday -- a result that was 10 times greater than that achieved by the party's predecessor, the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), in the state during the last election in 2004. In 2007, the Left Party was created through the merger of the western German WASG party and the eastern German PDS, the successor party to East Germany's Communists.

The party's 2004 result wasn't taken seriously by anyone. But on Sunday, the party rocketed up by 19 points -- an astonishing gain that makes the Left Party the third-strongest force in Saarland after the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). For the first time, the party has the opportunity to be part of a government in a western German state.

It was Oskar Lafontaine who delivered that success and he was feted by supporters Sunday. "Oskar, Oskar, Oskar," they called out, waving red party flags as the Queen song "We Are the Champions" played through the PA. There was no need on Sunday night for Lafontaine to rail against his political competition, against parties he accuses of neglecting the unemployed and cutting their social welfare benefits. Instead he spoke of an "unprecedented victory in the history of German political parties."

[KurtFF8]

It seems that the talk of Die Linke's possibility of success was not baseless.

[Lolshevik]

The question is, will Die Linke act any differently than the Social Democrats? If they take principled socialist positions, even if (make that especially if) this forces them into conflict with the bourgeois parties, they'll attract revolutionary energy and enthusiasm to their ranks and this could even help shape them into a coherent workers' party.

However, if they act like the Social Democracy's cousin, the people will become disillusioned - again - as the left fails to provide a coherent leadership to the mass discontent against capitalism - again, and because of the failure of the left to provide leadership, the far right will win by default. Again.

[scarletghoul]

Well duh, same can be said of any commie party ever, thats kind of a non-post..

[Lolshevik]

Well duh, same can be said of any commie party ever, thats kind of a non-post..

Fuck you. I was just making an observation due to the fact that Die Linke has a history of vacillating between very revolutionary rhetoric and sub-reformist practice. If you want to challenge the point I made then awesome, RevLeft is nothing if not for debate, but don't just go dismissing my idea as a "non post" because I said something that seems elementary to you. Have you considered that perhaps not everyone on the site will immediately make that conclusion in their head?

[Die Neue Zeit]

The question is, will Die Linke act any differently than the Social Democrats? If they take principled socialist positions, even if (make that especially if) this forces them into conflict with the bourgeois parties, they'll attract revolutionary energy and enthusiasm to their ranks and this could even help shape them into a coherent workers' party.

However, if they act like the Social Democracy's cousin, the people will become disillusioned - again - as the left fails to provide a coherent leadership to the mass discontent against capitalism - again, and because of the failure of the left to provide leadership, the far right will win by default. Again.

I read somewhere that the political differences that distinguish them are almost non-existent on the regional level. Playing no small part in this indifference, however, is the federalist structure and the jurisdiction of the regions.

[Lolshevik]

That's very unfortunate. At least Die Linke allows for internal caucuses and platforms, which hopefully will allow for the development of a genuinely Marxist current within the party that could win the leadership - I know that the German section of the CWI works within The Left in this way, although I don't really have a clue as to how it's working out for them so far.

[Enragé]

so is the german section of the IST^

[Revy]

Die Linke cannot advance as a socialist party with people like Lafontaine leading them. Not just because of his history with the SPD, or the fact he was a Minister of Finance under a capitalist government, but he also lives in a mansion ("the palace of social justice"), is known as a "populist" and has even been said (by the sources I've read (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4582639,00.html)) to have engaged in anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Lafontaine leads the party in the wrong direction.

[Zeus the Moose]

Die Linke cannot advance as a socialist party with people like Lafontaine leading them. Not just because of his history with the SPD, or the fact he was a Minister of Finance under a capitalist government, but he also lives in a mansion ("the palace of social justice"), is known as a "populist" and has even been said (by the sources I've read (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4582639,00.html)) to have engaged in anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Lafontaine leads the party in the wrong direction.

That's entirely possible.

On the other hand, bringing in people like Lafontaine, and more importantly, getting a base in the West, could be what Die Linke needs in order to break from its image as the descendant of an ossified post-Communist party. I'm not saying I'm an enthusiastic supporter of Lafontaine, but I'm not prepared to completely bail on Die Linke yet. However, if Lafontaine becomes the junior partner of an SPD-Linke-Grüne government in Saarland, that'd probably convince me. The coalitions in the East are frustrating enough.

[Mephisto]

There are 4 trotskyist currents within die Linke (CWI, the smaller of both german USFI Sections, the IMT and the successor of the former german IST Section) but hey and the other left members of the party are fighting a lost battle against a membership base AND a party beaurocracy which have long adopted a completely social democratic ideology and strategy.

While in the past only two of the 16 branches in the several federal states got involved into such a gouvernment and were criticised by most others, now the whole party openly aims to form gouvernments with the greens and the social democrats, on the regional and the national level.

By the way: The SPD is not a "centre left" party, but a strong neoliberal force, involved in cutting civil and social rights and waging/supporting war all over the world since they came to power in 1998.

Many socialist parties in the past believed, that they can achieve reforms for the sake of the working class while taking part in centre-left gouvernments. All of them shipwrecked all along the line. The most prominent examples are the eurocommunist parties in France and Italy.

I maybe have to add, that I know some CWI Comrades working within the left party and I know that both in the party and the youth league, right wing members and functionaries try to block them wherever they can. The most prominent member of the german CWI Lucy Redler wasn't even allowed to join, because she strongly criticised the far neoliberal policies of the regional gouvernment in Berlin, in which the Left Party participates.

my conclusion: I can understand why it is alluring to work within big structures rather than in little groups, where you always have not enough money and in some cases only scattered party groups throughout the region. But I think that the german revolutionary left should struggle together for a new political alternative on an uncompromising anticapitalist fundament instead of wasting energies by repeating all the old mistakes of the movement by entrism in social democratic organizations.

[Revy]

There are 3 trotskyist currents within die Linke (CWI, the very small IMT Section and the successor of the former german IST Section) but hey and the other left members of the party are fighting a lost battle against a membership base AND a party beaurocracy which have long adopted a completely social democratic ideology and strategy.

While in the past only two of the 16 branches in the several federal states got involved into such a gouvernment and were criticised by most others, now the whole party openly aims to form gouvernments with the greens and the social democrats, on the regional and the national level.

By the way: The SPD is not a "centre left" party, but a strong neoliberal force, involved in cutting civil and social rights and waging/supporting war all over the world since they came to power in 1998.

Many socialist parties in the past believed, that they can achieve reforms for the sake of the working class while taking part in centre-left gouvernments. All of them shipwrecked all along the line. The most prominent examples are the eurocommunist parties in France and Italy.

I maybe have to add, that I know some CWI Comrades working within the left party and I know that both in the party and the youth league, right wing members and functionaries try to block them wherever they can. The most prominent member of the german CWI Lucy Redler wasn't even allowed to join, because she strongly criticised the far neoliberal policies of the regional gouvernment in Berlin, in which the Left Party participates.

my conclusion: I can understand why it is alluring to work within big structures rather than in little groups, where you always have not enough money and in some cases only scattered party groups throughout the region. But I think that the german revolutionary left should struggle together for a new political alternative on an uncompromising anticapitalist fundament instead of wasting energies by repeating all the old mistakes of the movement by entrism in social democratic organizations.

What is your opinion of the New Anticapitalist Party in France? Would you support a new party like that in Germany?

[Mephisto]

The french NPA and especially the policy of the Fourth International is worthy for criticism, especially because the marxist forces within the NPA did not made it yet, to build up revolutionary tendencies with international affiliation within the party to connect the struggle for a revolutionary programme. At the moment it is very unclear for example, how the party as a whole or the former LCR members stand to the Fourth International.

But I'd of course support a NPA-like party in Germany and I support the NPA in France, because from the beginning it was planned and built up as an anticapitalist alternative to the bourgeois forces. I think it is normal for such a new party project, that it could not develop a clear and unambiguous profile by now. That's just the point where positive and solidary critique from in- and outside must focus on, to help developing a clear and revolutionary programme, which backs up the party for the coming years of political work and the oncoming class struggles.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Speaking of left parties, I can support Die Linke's base but not the base of, say, the Parti de Gauche. I know Oskar Lafontaine himself attended the founding congress of Jean-Luc Melenchon's opportunist organization, but is the Parti de Gauche too closely tied to the "mainstream left" compared with Die Linke?

[On the other hand, I think the NPA was stupid in running separately from the PG in the past European elections. The PG and the Party of the European Left never had the electoral chance to enter into coalition with the French "Socialists" and their European group.]


I maybe have to add, that I know some CWI Comrades working within the left party and I know that both in the party and the youth league, right wing members and functionaries try to block them wherever they can. The most prominent member of the german CWI Lucy Redler wasn't even allowed to join, because she strongly criticised the far neoliberal policies of the regional gouvernment in Berlin, in which the Left Party participates.

No, that's because you guys ran separate candidates in elections against the Die Linke candidates (albeit in order to act upon your "strong criticism").

[L.J.Solidarity]

No, that's because you guys ran separate candidates in elections against the Die Linke candidates (albeit in order to act upon your "strong criticism").
That reason for the expulsion suddenly appeared out of thin air in the party arbitration court's final decision, after the original accusation of "predictable future acting against party decisions" failed due to its obvious laughableness (it's explicitly allowed to act against party decisions in Die Linke, pluralist party and all...).
The SAV candidates ran in the council elections in the city of Rostock, where a comrade was already elected a councillor in 2004. The local branch of Die Linke completely ignored an offer to cooperate, and the (otherwise quite dead) Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state branch of the youth organisation banned all SAV members from joining before anyone had even tried to do so.

On the thread topic, I think that Die Linke will definitely be part of at least 1 new state government. Coalition talks will last until after the federal elections in 4 weeks, but eventually it's going to happen. I just don't know whether it'll be Saarland, where both the state party leader and Oskar Lafontaine basically said they'd agree to anything in order to become part of the government, but in order to get a majority they would need the Green Party's votes, and possibly the greens will form a coalition with the conservatives. In Thuringia, Die Linke is the strongest party and it's leader Bodo Ramelow (the prototype of a "social democrat"/Realo) wants to become governor, while the state SPD declared they'd never vote for him and insist on making their own leader the new governor. I half expect Die Linke to just give in and elect the SPD guy to make sure that some people get a minister's wage.
A coalition in Saarland would be more of a disaster for the party as a whole because it was considered a credible opposition in the west before, while becoming part of the government in Thuringia would lose a significant part of their 27% of the vote in the state, but it doesn't have a too big population
and in the eastern states nobody actually expects Die Linke to be much different from the SPD, many of the voters are old people who already voted for the SED when there wasn't anything else to vote for and just kept doing so because of tradition.

[Mephisto]

I completely agree with your assessment, L.J.

The question which now appears to me is, what do you hope to win by still working within this party and it's youth/students league, where you are facing a overwhelming majority of left-wing liberals and social democrats and your members are blocked wherever it's possible?

[yuon]

The question is, will Die Linke act any differently than the Social Democrats? If they take principled socialist positions, even if (make that especially if) this forces them into conflict with the bourgeois parties, they'll attract revolutionary energy and enthusiasm to their ranks and this could even help shape them into a coherent workers' party.

However, if they act like the Social Democracy's cousin, the people will become disillusioned - again - as the left fails to provide a coherent leadership to the mass discontent against capitalism - again, and because of the failure of the left to provide leadership, the far right will win by default. Again.


Well duh, same can be said of any commie party ever, thats kind of a non-post..
That's the trouble with being in the parliament, you just become another capitalist party.

I think that the point made by Rex Marhiku is a good one.

The trouble is, they will become basically a reformist party, if they haven't already. Being in parliament does that to you.

The Greens in Germany provide a good example of that, err, yeah, we won't vote against nuke power, even though it's a core policy stance.

Anyway, it is exciting to see people voting for alternatives to the major capitalist parties. I am interested in the discussion. I'm just a bit more sceptical I guess. Continue with your discussion, and I'll take myself over there to watch. Pretend I'm not here. :ninja:

[Revy]

What will the Luxemburgs and Liebkneckts of this generation do?
It's like the early history of the SPD all over again.

[Die Neue Zeit]

I said above "Playing no small part in this indifference, however, is the federalist structure and the jurisdiction of the regions."

Well, here's an article on this:

http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/783/oskarlafontaine.php


For the first time, Die Linke could become the majority partner in a potential ‘red-red’ coalition (supported by the Greens). But no doubt, its politics would not be dramatically different from what it had been ‘forced’ to do as a minority partner. How could they be? Regional governments have limited powers - in education, for example. A ‘red-red’ coalition could scrap student fees, but that’s about it. On the other hand, regional governments have to enforce some of the swinging cuts and vicious attacks on working conditions that the national government has ordered. As a minority in Saarland or a majority in Thuringia the Linke will be forced to manage capitalism, which especially in this period will mean cuts, cuts and cuts again.

[Lolshevik]

It would be interesting if Die Linke, in a regional coalition government, simply refused to administer any cuts at all. They could use their power as a position of protest. It's highly unlikely though, but interesting.

[Muzk]

From what I have seen and heard this party is just another social democratic party. He never freely spoke out that he's a socialist or communist, he just wants to lighten it up a little. But who knows what might be behind this?

I still wonder how they could score this much with the PDS propaganda saying they had a dictatorship going in Eastern Germany, killing people and observing every single citizen

[anti-authoritarian]

Reformist or not (and let's remember Die Linke does have a genuine Marxist current in the form of the Antikapitalistische Linke and the Kommunistische Plattform) it's pleasing to see the German people voting for a left-wing alternative at a time where the extreme-right seems to be flourishing elsewhere in Europe.

[Mephisto]

The "Anticapitalist Left" ist everything but surely not a "genuine marxist current". There is no programme or something which is comparable to that and in fact you see and hear absolutely nothing of the AL.

And the Communist Platform, to be honest, consists mainly of old people in the east, which still follow the old stalinist dogmatic views of the SED. It is hardly more than a nostalgical circle.



But yes, there are revolutionary marxists working within the party, like I said there are comrades of the smaller of both german USFI Sections, the CWI, the IMT and the former IST Section. But what does that say about the political profile of the party? Just some years ago, there were still some marxist currents within the SPD, which surely does not make the social democrats a "left alternative".

[Crux]

The "Anticapitalist Left" ist everything but surely not a "genuine marxist current". There is no programme or something which is comparable to that and in fact you see and hear absolutely nothing of the AL.

And the Communist Platform, to be honest, consists mainly of old people in the east, which still follow the old stalinist dogmatic views of the SED. It is hardly more than a nostalgical circle.



But yes, there are revolutionary marxists working within the party, like I said there are comrades of the smaller of both german USFI Sections, the CWI, the IMT and the former IST Section. But what does that say about the political profile of the party? Just some years ago, there were still some marxist currents within the SPD, which surely does not make the social democrats a "left alternative".
True, but it is a matter of potential. Organizing a revolutionary opposition within Die Linke is not only about reaching a broader base but will also eventually be struggle for the way forward for the party, indeed the leadership of the party. This opposition as of now is, as you say, relatively small, but if and when such a current can gain influence events can change very quickly, the nature of a party is not static. This is what the CWI-comrades in germany are laying the groundwork for.
Your description of the NPA, which I agree with, shows this aswell.

[Mephisto]

I understand your position and I would agree if the left party would at least aim to be a "left alternative" in the sense of a party which holds a consequent position of political opposition within the parliament and on the streets.

That is unfortunately not the case, because the main goal is to achieve gouvernment coalitions with the social democrats and the greens. As Marxists we all know, that a party which participates in capitalist gouvernment is digging it's own grave. It is completely utopic to hope that the social democrats would "re-socialdemocraticise themselves" (the words of Gregor Gysi, one of the most prominent party members). So DIE LINKE can do nothing but to make as much allowances to the social democrats as necessary for them to get in the boat. That means that it is not the question of "how must an left alternative be like?". It is the question of how you want to transform a party which has overwhelmingly decided to accommodate to the bourgeois system and it's state into an anticapitalist alternative?

Of course, the CWI comrades challenge this course best they can and they do so bravely (considering all the odds and even intrigues that stand against them) but everything is suggesting that this battle was lost before it began.

[Crux]

I understand your position and I would agree if the left party would at least aim to be a "left alternative" in the sense of a party which holds a consequent position of political opposition within the parliament and on the streets.

That is unfortunately not the case, because the main goal is to achieve gouvernment coalitions with the social democrats and the greens. As Marxists we all know, that a party which participates in capitalist gouvernment is digging it's own grave. It is completely utopic to hope that the social democrats would "re-socialdemocraticise themselves" (the words of Gregor Gysi, one of the most prominent party members). So DIE LINKE can do nothing but to make as much allowances to the social democrats as necessary for them to get in the boat. That means that it is not the question of "how must an left alternative be like?". It is the question of how you want to transform a party which has overwhelmingly decided to accommodate to the bourgeois system and it's state into an anticapitalist alternative?

Of course, the CWI comrades challenge this course best they can and they do so bravely (considering all the odds and even intrigues that stand against them) but everything is suggesting that this battle was lost before it began.
Well, you have to separate the leadership and the base of Die Linke here. Certainly in the leadership many are consciously seeking to be a left aliby to the SDP, however in the base of members and voters this is not the case. The opposition to coalition politics in the party is quite widespread, maybe not a majority but at least a significant minority. Further more many are unconscously adopting the position of the leadership seeing that as the "only realistic way", the same thing goes for the electorate, while technically being against the politics such a course would lead to. Of course as history has shown time and time again, such a politics will only lead to disaster. So if a counscious marxist current is organised within Die Linke it would give structure to the already existing opposition, most likely be able to win over many new layers. Further more this could also mean that when the leadership of Die Linke makes betrayals, instead of people becoming dissillusioned, both in the party and the general public, with Die Linke, and oft times politics all together, an strong marxist current could pose as alternative and force the leadership to back down. Die linke is not a bourguise party, with bourguise members and a bourguise electorate, it is a party that has reorganized the left and created hope for many worker's and youth and while the leadership of the party are both uncapable and unwilling to fullfill those hopes this those not mean the party is over, it means the battle has just begun.

[Mephisto]

You see, that is where our opinions divide. As far as I can judge the situation, the opponents of gouvernment participations are nearly a neglectable minority. They get a word sometimes, but they are far from a real political influence on the party's decisions or important theoretical debates.

As a good single example: I recently had a talk with a befriended activist of DIE LINKE.SDS (The Left. Socialist Democratic Students Association), who actually stands on the left of the party and although he is not a marxist, he even thought about joining the German Communist Party. But even he started to argue about this point in the classical way of former social democrats: "Of course, we want to overthrow capitalism, but the time is not ripe now and while this is the case, we want to change some smaller things for the people by working within the gouvernment."

You see the problem? Only the very few organized marxists in the party and the also obviously influenceless and, as it seems to me, inactive network Anticapitalist Left nobody fights against this course, because the very most members fall pray to the sweet promises of the typical EL-reformism.

I have to say, that I was once a member of the Party of Democratic Socialism (the predecessor of DIE LINKE) and I experienced, that most of the base members of the party, at least in the east of germany, adopted the political course of the leadership without problems. Maybe in the west the relations of power and the structure of the party base differs to a certain degree from the eastern branches, but as the political outcome is the same, I don't think it makes a big disparity.

[Die Neue Zeit]

I thought this article to be interesting, because it really raises questions as to whether Lafontaine is a liquidationist or not:



Power Games on the German Left – Lafontaine, the radical Riddle (http://www.social-europe.eu/2009/09/power-games-on-the-german-left-lafontaine-the-radical-riddle/)

So one can only marvel at the chutzpah of Messrs. Heil, Müntefering and Steinmeier when they spoke of the “momentum” generated for the SPD. The truth is that the social democrats are in danger of becoming a political sect, yet this alarming development is not being taken on board and debated within the party with anything like the urgency that it deserves.

The social democrats – and herein lies the paradox – have been living off Lafontaine for the last thirty years: when he was still in the party, and now once again, since it is entirely due to his power to mobilise support that the ailing SPD is to some extent back in contention again, following the defeats suffered by the CDU in the regional elections.

In the 1980s Lafontaine was the original leader of the pack for the social democrats of his generation. He it is, and not Schröder, let alone Müntefering, who possesses a sixth sense for the gradual tectonic shifts in society. He it is, and not Steinbrück, let alone Struck, who knew how to connect emerging issues and turn them into concrete projects, bringing them to a head in the arena of public debate. By doing so he gave the SPD a sense of direction.

And he successfully broadened the party’s appeal. In the late 1980s he was the darling of the employers because he laid into the trade unions with gusto. He was also the hero of the post-materialists, because he fought against nuclear power and medium-range ballistic missiles. He kept the marginalised workers on side by giving barnstorming socialist speeches. And he impressed educated middle-class sophisticates with his unapologetic love of the good things in life and his appointment of top chefs to the staff of the Saarland government delegation in Bonn.

What kind of left does Lafontaine want?

Some of this was subsequently mocked in the 1990s as Tuscan hedonism: the politics of Chiantishire. But then Lafontaine reinvented himself, and as party chairman he imposed order and discipline on a party that had been badly split and disunited, and led it into the final showdown with Kohl. Through his unyielding opposition in the Bundesrat he successfully destroyed the fiscal policy of the ruling CDU/FDP coalition and famously helped the social democrats winning the federal elections of 1998. Years later he was for a long time seen as the failed Federal Finance Minister from the early months of the Schröder government.

But in the meantime perspectives have shifted, calling into question much of non-Keynesian economic theory. Lafontaine’s projects for more regulation and coordination in fiscal policy now look startlingly prescient. And in the spring of 2005 he once again demonstrated his instinctive feeling for the right moment: with early federal elections now pending, he pushed the then WASG and PDS into a merger and so created a new, nationally viable Left Party – which in September of that year successfully blocked a majority coalition of Merkel and Westerwelle. Since then Germany’s established party system and the traditional coalition mechanisms have been transformed.

Lafontaine – one of the few strategic thinkers in German politics

This is no small achievement. Lafontaine is undoubtedly one of the most hated politicians in Germany: but what is equally clear is that he has achieved more, and pushed more political issues up the agenda, than most of his opponents. But what is he really after? Is it all a campaign to destroy the social democrats, by whom he feels betrayed and abandoned? Or is he seeking to unify the left, creating a new socialist unity party for our times, so to speak – but this time on a voluntary basis?

Lafontaine pulled off his biggest coups when he dealt a death blow to the hegemony of Kohl and when he brought down Schröder. By 2013 at the latest he wants to send Merkel, Westerwelle and the remaining Schröder crew packing. But is that enough to satisfy this gifted politician, who comes across as malcontent, or at the very least bored, as soon as he achieves what he has set out to do?

There is no doubt that Lafontaine is one of the few true strategic thinkers in German politics. He starts thinking from where he wants to end up, and not from the situation where he is now. 2013 is surely going to be a crucial year for him. By then the political landscape of the Federal Republic will have to be gradually reordered. From his perspective a national CDU/FDP coalition might not be at all a bad thing for an ongoing change of government in the German states, paving the way for a coalition of left-wing parties in Berlin, in the Saarland, in Thuringia, in Brandenburg, later on in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – and who knows, in North Rhine-Westphalia in May 2010?

Or is Lafontaine hoping for another Grand Coalition (CDU/SPD), on the grounds that this could destroy for good the SPD of the upwardly mobile centre? As he approaches 70, what kind of left does he want to see? Is he even interested in the left any more?

Questions, questions. But as yet, no answers.

[L.J.Solidarity]

Bodo Ramelow declared (http://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/6698984.html) he doesn't insist on becoming governor of Thuringia anymore and will enter a coalition with the SPD and the Greens as long as they make him Minister of Economics. This shows once again how Die Linke's right wing is ready to throw just about every principle or demand overboard and will even enter a coalition as a minor partner despite having a clear plurality in the state parliament in order to get their people into well-paid positions. I predict they're going to lose half of their voters in the state.

[Dimentio]

Die Linke cannot advance as a socialist party with people like Lafontaine leading them. Not just because of his history with the SPD, or the fact he was a Minister of Finance under a capitalist government, but he also lives in a mansion ("the palace of social justice"), is known as a "populist" and has even been said (by the sources I've read (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4582639,00.html)) to have engaged in anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Lafontaine leads the party in the wrong direction.

And conversely, Die Linke cannot under the current circumstances get anywhere without people like LaFontaine in the leadership. :(

[Wakizashi the Bolshevik]

I suppose we can be happy that there is at least a decent leftist party of importance in Germany.

[Mephisto]

That is the classical argument of many left-wing supporters of the party but I completely disagree. The working class does not benefit at all from the false belief of improvements made by petty bourgeois parliamentarists, especially if they make themselves the door to power for neoliberals (which is exactly what they do, what L.J. Solidarity already pointed out).

We need to build up a real workers party in Germany. Of course I know, this is not an easy task. But I believe if the revolutionary socialist organisations in germany try to improve their cooperation it is possible on the long term to form anticapitalist alternatives by making alliances of the revolutionary socialist left, as it happened in Brazil, Portugal and several other countries.

[L.J.Solidarity]

Fortunately the SPD in Thuringia decided to form a coalition with the CDU despite Die Linke's willing submission. I don't have the slightest clue on what could be their reason, but at least it saves Die Linke the embarassment of sitting in another government executing cutbacks.

[chebol]

According to Matschie (SPD), “We are convinced that greater stability is possible with this coalition”. That is to say, the SPD is desperate for government, and desperate to avoid working with Die Linke.

I agree, it is fortunate, and a little stupid of the SPD, to be honest, because they could use this kind of coalition to cauterise their wounds and reposition themselves in a way that could limit Die Linke's growth (which they really need in the East).

Perhaps the SPD leadership really are worried about losing more ground and members to Die Linke in the wake of the elections.

I think it shows how much of a demoralising effect the results had on the SPD leadership, as well as how much they really dislike the idea of a powerful Die Linke (even with its contradictions).

[Die Neue Zeit]

I wonder if Saarland is on the road to Jamaica.

[L.J.Solidarity]

Oskar Lafontaine has left the Bundestag with the intention of returning to Saarland in order to form a coalition with the SPD and Greens there while staying co-leader of the federal party.
This is definitely a bad sign, because a left government in Saarland with Lafontaine visibly part of it wouldn't only underminde the party's credibility in the west and move it to the right as a whole but would also take away a very popular leading figure in which many people have illusions. The Greens allying with the CDU in Saarland are Die Linke's last hope.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Oskar Lafontaine has left the Bundestag with the intention of returning to Saarland in order to form a coalition with the SPD and Greens there while staying co-leader of the federal party.
This is definitely a bad sign, because a left government in Saarland with Lafontaine visibly part of it wouldn't only underminde the party's credibility in the west and move it to the right as a whole but would also take away a very popular leading figure in which many people have illusions. The Greens allying with the CDU in Saarland are Die Linke's last hope.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=asfD3gwGpv40

And if Saarland decides to travel the route to Jamaica, can Lafontaine reclaim his old post back? Maybe SPD reticence like in Thuringia will end any sort of aspirations for liquidationism on his part.

[FSL]

Oskar Lafontaine has left the Bundestag with the intention of returning to Saarland in order to form a coalition with the SPD and Greens there while staying co-leader of the federal party.
This is definitely a bad sign


This is a great sign. Maybe workers will stop having illusions that help noone and start working towards building a working class party instead of these abominations we see in Germany/France/Italy.

[Mather]

Or is Lafontaine hoping for another Grand Coalition (CDU/SPD), on the grounds that this could destroy for good the SPD of the upwardly mobile centre? As he approaches 70, what kind of left does he want to see? Is he even interested in the left any more?

Questions, questions. But as yet, no answers.


I think this bit of the article is important. As of yet, none of us can make any concrete predictions about what is going to happen to Die Linke. Whether Oskar Lafontine and his supporters are going to become the dominant grouping within Die Linke, whether the numerous marxist and anti-capitalist groupings can make any headway within Die Linke and whether Die Linke can grow even more, in terms of votes, members and support.

Also, what is Die Linke's relationship with the trade unions and organised labour?

[L.J.Solidarity]

Also, what is Die Linke's relationship with the trade unions and organised labour?
In Die Linke, there's a group called the AG Betrieb&Gewerkschaft (Business&Unions) which organizes union activists. AG B&G usually is a bit to the left of the party line, for example they joined the protests against the right-wing draft electoral programme presented by the Bundestag caucus early this year which succeeded in moving the final programme considerably to the left. However I heard that in some states they're just social democratic members of the trade union bureaucracy, but in Hamburg they're at least left-wing keynesians, if not outright socialists. AG B&G also is one of the largest groups within the party and the one that organizes most activity on the street/at workplaces.

On the union's part, for the first time in this year's elections the DGB (union congress) didn't officially call for a vote for the SPD. However all federal-level union leaders are still in the SPD (except Schmoldt from IG BCE (Mining, Chemistry, Energy), who is a conservative) and more or less openly supported it's election campaign. Die Linke only has a strong influence in some unions on state level, for example the GEW (Education&Science, mostly teachers and some kindergarten employees and others) in Hamburg or ver.di (Services, e.g. everything except industrial workers, teachers, cops, and railway workers) in Baden-Württemberg.

[Die Neue Zeit]

I think this bit of the article is important. As of yet, none of us can make any concrete predictions about what is going to happen to Die Linke. Whether Oskar Lafontine and his supporters are going to become the dominant grouping within Die Linke, whether the numerous marxist and anti-capitalist groupings can make any headway within Die Linke and whether Die Linke can grow even more, in terms of votes, members and support.

Also, what is Die Linke's relationship with the trade unions and organised labour?

The cynic in me says that Lafontaine quit today to actually pave the way for red-red-green coalitions at the federal level. The SPD's top leadership have a very personal disdain of Lafontaine, and his removal from the federal picture would pacify them.

If this is also part of a generational change, then I hope that Gysi and Bisky step aside as well. The reformist East German wing can be led by either Katja Kipping or Petra Pau, thus also satisfying Lafontaine's desire for a woman in the top leadership.

[L.J.Solidarity]

The Greens decided to form a coalition with CDU and FDP in Saarland. :)
Unfortunately, Kerstin Kaiser, Die Linke's leading figure in Brandenburg and former employee of the stalinist secret service just "did a Ramelow" and said she wouldn't demand to be part of the government in order to make the SPD sign a coalition agreement. But well, Brandenburg is the state that lies around Berlin, so likely everybody is likely to know that "Red-red" coalitions act just like any other anti-worker government, also the majority of Die Linke there is a bunch of social democrats and "left liberals".

[Die Neue Zeit]

I wonder if Lafontaine will have the guts to renege on his Bundestag resignation, but that would go against my cynical comments above. :(

[L.J.Solidarity]

Turns out that Lafontaine resigned because he has cancer, as he announced today. I think this is a negative development, as Lafontaine, while certainly a social democrat, always took much more radical positions (if only in words) than right-wing Gregor Gysi, who is likely to become the single most prominent leader of Die Linke in case of Lafontaine's death or retirement.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Sympathies are in order for this avuncular figure for ordinary Germans and his family, despite his politics. :(

[Rjevan]

Short Spiegel Online article on these really surprising news:
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,662018,00.html

This explains why he surprisingly stepped down as leader of Die Linke in the German Bundestag, shortly after the general elections and wanted to return to local politics in his home country, Saarland. People thought that he wanted to take an important ministry there under a SPD-Die Linke government, a plan which was stopped by Saarland's Green party who chose with great majority to form a government with the CDU and the FDP instead of allying with passionately hated Lafontaine, a step which was massively criticised and caused demonstrations againt the Greens who "betrayed the voters" amongst students and people of Saarland.

Now, as rumors of an affair with Communist Platform leader Sarah Wagenknecht as the reason for his stepping down grew he announced yesterday afternoon that these rumors are made up and that the real reason is him suffering from cancer. Tomorrow he has to undergo an operation, how his future in Die Linke is going to be afterwards is totally open... similar to the future of Die Linke without Lafontaine.

Though I disagree with many things this man said and think he is a populist with the main aim to hurt the SPD above anything else, he has my sympathies and I hope his operation will run well.

EDIT: Oops, JR just opened a seperate thread on this, could a mod please move my post there? Thanks.

[Die Neue Zeit]

An affair with Sahra Wagenknecht? Sheesh, a fictitious affair between two married politicians was on the German tabloids? How low can they get? :rolleyes:

[Revy]

What are the differences between Lafontaine, Bisky and Gysi?

If Lafontaine were to step down, would that mean that Gysi would rise to Co-Chairman?

I wonder in what direction the party would go. It sounds like a recipe for a split or expulsion of the left of the party.

[Die Neue Zeit]

What are the differences between Lafontaine, Bisky and Gysi?

If Lafontaine were to step down, would that mean that Gysi would rise to Co-Chairman?

I wonder in what direction the party would go. It sounds like a recipe for a split or expulsion of the left of the party.

Lafontaine has stepped down from the co-chair of the parliamentary group, not from the co-chairmanship of the party itself. In fact, Bisky (with a Stasi past) said he'll step down from the party co-chair position. Perhaps this "realo" will focus on EUL-NGL matters. Besides, next year Die Linke will have one party chairman, per the party's own Federal Statutes.

The post-WWII SPD, for example, has always split the party chairmanship position from the parliamentary group chair position. So Gysi might become the sole parliamentary chair, but the party chairmanship will go to someone else from the West, be it Lafontaine or someone of his choosing.

While Gysi is a blatant reformist, this "realo" seems to be fully dedicated to the party. His personal goal seems to be to have Die Linke replace the SPD as the other Volkspartei in eastern Germany (the current elections are a good sign for this goal).

Meanwhile, some posters here have reservations about Lafontaine's commitment to the party, leaving aside his allegedly revolutionary rhetoric and general populist opportunism: posters like Rjevan think he wants to hurt the SPD in general, that he has truly left any lingering nostalgia for his days in that party; others think that he may be open to returning to that party if it "turned left." Die Linke needs to minimize such liquidationist, SPD-leaning politics at all costs.

Bisky, on the sidelines, is in fact a Gysi man from the old days of the PDS, but this Stasi man is now deadwood with the Statute's transitional rules expiring in 2010 and with his focus on the EUL-NGL.

The rising stars appear to be Petra Pau (another blatant reformist) and Katja Kipping (a basic income crusader and another ex-PDS person, but one who's chummy with the Greens on coalition issues). If Gysi steps down, Pau or Kipping might take over as the leading easterner. Who might take over as the leading westerner is the open question.