On the left, the fungus spreads further. After the argument about a Russia-friendly speech by Wagenknecht, the NRW state association took her side. 13 board members are now declaring their withdrawal and raising serious allegations against the party leadership.
Because of the ongoing dispute in the left, a large part of the state executive of North Rhine-Westphalia has announced its withdrawal and made serious allegations against the federal leadership of the party. According to a joint statement by 13 board members, there will be no more candidates for the board election in a week’s time.
According to the paper, the party is in its most difficult situation since it was founded in 2007. However, the federal executive refuses to work through the poor election results and risks rendering the party irrelevant. “We are experiencing a self-destructive culture of debate,” it continues. “Media denunciation and public prejudice are becoming instruments of internal party disputes.”
The background is also the ongoing dispute over statements by the former parliamentary group leader Sahra Wagenknecht. After a speech on Ukraine policy in the Bundestag in September, she also sparked fierce opposition within the party. The NRW state association, on the other hand, stood by Wagenknecht, who is a member there and was the top candidate for the 2021 federal election. One of the signatories to the declaration, Deputy Country Chief Amid Rabieh, said the left stands for diversity of opinion. This is questioned by members of the federal executive board and the parliamentary group. “This is a denunciation of pluralism in our party,” Rabieh said. At the same time, he emphasized: “We don’t want to speak out for a division, but we say: It’s a wake-up call.” The federal board must open up to a new strategic beginning instead of passing the buck to individual people.
There has been speculation for weeks as to whether Wagenknecht could possibly found his own party. So far, the member of the Bundestag has not committed itself. She recently said to Bild TV: “I wish that a party would emerge in Germany that could change government policy.” She added: “But it’s just not that easy to found a party.”
Wagenknecht only caused a new stir on Friday. She called the Greens “the most dangerous party” in the Bundestag, while parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch emphasized: “The most dangerous party represented in the Bundestag is and remains the AfD.”
