[Ten challenges to rebuilding the party as a force for democratic
socialism and solidarity]
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A STRONG DIE LINKE IS POSSIBLE AND NEEDED!  
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The Working Group on the Future of Die Linke
September 7, 2022
Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
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_ Ten challenges to rebuilding the party as a force for democratic
socialism and solidarity _

Federal Party Congress of Die Linke in Hanover, Germany on 9 June
2017, (Photo: Flickr / DIE Linke)

 

_When it was founded 15 years ago, on 16 June 2007, the German
socialist party Die Linke inspired socialists and progressives across
Europe as a chance to reunite and rebuild the Left in the European
Union’s most populous and most powerful country. Today, however, the
party finds itself in a deep crisis, with its electoral fortunes and,
increasingly, its future existence as a nationwide political force on
the line._

_In order to facilitate strategic discussion and political
clarification within the party, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, as Die
Linke’s affiliated political foundation, established a Working Group
on the Future of Die Linke to take a closer, empirically guided look
at the party’s problems and potentials. Below is a shortened version
of one of its first findings. You can find the full-length paper in
German __here_
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The situation in which Die Linke finds itself is characterized by
glaring contradictions: it has considerable potential to reach nearly
one fifth of the electorate, and yet it receives fewer and fewer
votes. Although Die Linke has gained 30,000 new, mostly young members
over the last ten years, it is has not kept up with other parties.
While its social campaigns garner widespread support, the party itself
does not.

The people who need social protection the most and who value social
justice above all do not regard Die Linke as a relevant point of
reference or as representing them politically. Searching for
alternatives to capitalism is important to one third of the
population, but the socialist party Die Linke is not. Die Linke wants
to be _the_ left-wing party, but the positions it has adopted on all
the major issues in recent years (migration, climate change, the
coronavirus, the war in Ukraine) have been inconsistent and
contradictory. These contradictions pose a challenge to the integrity
and continued existence of the party. At the same time, as a force for
solidarity in times of crisis and upheaval, Die Linke is urgently
needed, but only if it can overcome the following ten challenges.

The _first_ and most urgent challenge is without a doubt that
of _building a centralized strategic party leadership _that unites
the national party and its representatives in the German parliament,
the Bundestag. The future of Die Linke depends on its completion of
this task in 2022.

No new permanent entity was created after the Party of Democratic
Socialism (PDS) and the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social
Justice (WASG) merged. The party is made up of three sub-projects: a
left-wing social-democratic project (focused in the West), a left-wing
movement that functions as a reference point for younger and more
activism-oriented elements in the party, and the internally complex
reformist camp (primarily in the East). These three sub-projects have
thus far operated in an uncoordinated manner alongside and sometimes
against one another. If the upcoming party congress does not
prioritize establishing strategic unity, Die Linke will fail as a
party.

_Second_, Die Linke needs to reflect on its _core brand as a
socialist justice party_. The PDS, WASG, and Die Linke always excelled
when they emphasized compelling positions on social justice issues.
Some 96 percent of German citizens believe that wealth is not fairly
distributed in Germany. Climate change is a social justice issue for
the next generation, and 72 percent of the population wants to see
radical change in this regard.

Social justice is a contemporary issue! But people lack confidence in
Die Linke’s ability to take a practical approach to achieving social
justice. Only three percent of the German population trusts Die Linke
in matters of environmental and climate policy, only one percent with
respect to economic policy, and two percent where digitalization is
concerned. Die Linke is not perceived as the party of the future.

_Third_, under the current circumstances, Die Linke can only position
itself as the party of socialist justice if it can distinguish itself
as the _party of systemic social-ecological change and the party
invariably in favour of peace_. We are living in the age of crisis
capitalism and, increasingly, also of disaster and war
capitalism. _System change, not climate change_ presents an
appropriate solution to our predicament. Ecological and social demands
must be linked together, and the concept of a “just transition”
captures both sides of that demand. Economic democracy is inseparable
from social-ecological transformation.

All of this points toward the need for a fundamental change in the
ways that economies, social systems, power, and property relations are
regulated. It also points toward a new mode of production and living,
one which would entail a systemic change that takes both peace and
security policy into account. Die Linke should be a driving force in
the creation of a new international security architecture under UN
leadership, one that outlaws atomic, biological, and chemical weapons
of mass destruction. Scaling back war and military conflict is a basic
precondition for social-ecological transformation.

_Fourth_, it is urgently necessary to counter the current crises of
capitalism with a _combination of social protections, a plan for
social transformation, and the implementation of a necessary system
change_. Die Linke will only become a practical and useful component
of Germany’s political system when it can convincingly represent a
position that brings these aspects together.

The desire for social security and an orientation toward the future go
hand in hand. The demand for a comprehensive transformation of the
prevailing modes of production and living needs to be combined with a
concrete, credible promise of security. Without a commitment to
security and a guarantee that the job market will be reliable, there
can be no justice amidst the transformation.

_Fifth_, the foundation for any such combination of protection,
planning, and systemic change must be built on a _coalition in which
the middle and working classes stand in solidarity_. Like all
left-wing organizations, Die Linke must confront the fact that
capitalist competition divides classes of wage labourers: at the
regional, national, European, and global levels, and along the lines
of gender, identity, age, citizenship status, and skin colour.

Left-wing parties must foster links of solidarity between more
privileged social groups with the vulnerable lower-middle class and
those lower on the social ladder. That is the only way that popular
initiatives and large left-wing parties can develop. It is precisely
these groups, which should jointly form the basis of a left wing that
is capable of taking meaningful action, that are, on the one hand,
united by their class position (particularly with respect to demands
for a just configuration of society) and, on the other hand,
culturally divided. The more privileged sectors of society in
particular should be responsible for establishing connections with
those from the lower strata.

_Sixth_, Die Linke can only develop a coalition between the middle and
working classes if it creates _strong connections with the worlds of
industrial labour, public utilities, and social services as well as
with emancipatory social movements_. In particular, it should focus on
developing close relations with the unions, including those in the
factories.

Die Linke took new steps in this direction when it established
its _Gewerkschaftsrat_ (Union Council) in 2022, which operates
nationwide. Many young members of Die Linke have close connections
with social and ecological movements, but few if any of them are
connected with the unions. Change can only happen together.

_Seventh_, these commonalities can be used to generate _concrete
entry-level projects into social-ecological systemic change and for a
new peace and security policy_. In Germany, Die Linke is currently not
perceived as a party that can reliably impact social-ecological
transformation or shape European or peace policy. Initiatives that
start from local or state governments do not resonate at the national
level. One exception has been support for the Expropriate Deutsche
Wohnen & Co._ _initiative in Berlin.

An effort should be made to work in close contact with unions, Friends
of the Earth Germany (BUND), social welfare organizations, social
movements, and citizens on solidarity-based alternatives to the green
capitalist project and to turn those working relations into a unifying
foundation for electoral programmes, local action, and parliamentary
work. Die Linke needs to be operationally present and intervene in
transformative processes that are already underway and help provide
them with a political orientation.

With respect to core programmatic questions, corridors must be
established through which left-wing positions can be advocated within
the party. In the first place, this involves developing
forward-looking orientations and, in the second place, taking a clear
stance against positions that are entirely incompatible with Die
Linke’s programme. At the same time, a year-long process should be
initiated that will lead to overcoming the shortcomings in that
programme.

_Eighth_, on this basis, there is also a challenge _to become a
vibrant, member-driven party_ again. The process of revisiting the
party programme can help with this. Die Linke has had such a
substantial change in membership since 2011 that it is no longer
feasible to call it the same party. More than half of its
approximately 60,000 members have joined since then. Most of those are
between the ages of 20 and 40, while many older members have left the
party or died. Those who came from the SED or from the SPD and
left-wing groups in West Germany before 1990 are now a minority.

In order for the party to be appealing to society, it must earn a
reputation as a solidarity-based, vibrant, member-driven party.
Members want more unity, more debate among themselves, and more
contact with the party on the ground. Anyone who finds their way to
Die Linke must be received with open arms. This includes creating
opportunities for party members to meet in a low-stakes environment to
make decisions, engage in political debates, exchange experiences,
work through conflicts in solidarity, have fun, and engage in
inter-generational dialogue. Both basic political education and
practical organizational skills need to be taught. An attractive,
member-driven party must openly confront the fact that left-wing
organizations are not immune to social structures of discrimination
and domination.

The _ninth_ challenge has to do with _combining the three functions
of a left-wing socialist party_: _a caretaker in everyday life, a
force that intervenes in social discourse, and an effective
parliamentary actor_ — in many communities, regions, and states.
Left-wing parties are strong when they are able, first, to prove
themselves as caretaker parties, directly demonstrating their use
value in relation to the everyday concerns of people in communities
and workplaces. Secondly, it is essential for them to intervene in
public discourse, successfully set their party’s own agenda, and
speak on behalf of popular social demands in state and national
parliaments. Third, the party must work effectively in legislative
and, in some cases, executive bodies.

At the same time, a change in the party's statutes is needed so that
plurality can be maintained and joint leadership of the national party
and the parliamentary group in the Bundestag can finally be achieved,
increasing the effectiveness of the party's work and safeguarding
democracy within the party.

_Tenth_, a socialist party needs a contemporary and _new
understanding of socialism_. The experience of modern capitalism’s
dramatic tendency toward crisis is making large portions of the
population sceptical that a good life is possible for all under
capitalism. Proposals for a social-ecological system change have an
openly socialist character. The dominance of an orientation toward
public welfare, the role of democratic planning and economic
democracy, the expansion of an economy for the common good and
reversing the privatization of many public services, earmarking
private assets for future social tasks, the most comprehensive social
safeguards possible in times of drastic structural change, the
creation of transformation councils, global justice, etc. These
elements and concepts can define socialism — also known as a society
based on principles of solidarity.

Die Linke is urgently needed — but to meet that need, it must renew
itself.

_The WORKING GROUP ON THE FUTURE OF DIE LINKE consists of Dagmar
Enkelmann, Heinz Bierbaum, Michael Brie, Mario Candeias, Richard
Detje, Sophie Dieckmann Heinz Hillebrandt, and Moritz Warnke. _

_Translated by Joseph Keady and Hunter Bolin for Gegensatz Translation
Collective_

_The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung is one of the six major political
foundations in the Federal Republic of Germany, tasked primarily with
conducting political education both at home and abroad. The foundation
is closely linked to Die Linke, the German Left Party._

_Since its founding in 1990, the foundation’s work has adhered to
the legacy of its namesake, German socialist leader Rosa Luxemburg,
and seeks to represent democratic socialism with an unwavering
internationalist focus. The foundation is committed to a radical
perspective emphasizing public awareness, enlightenment and social
critique. It stands in the tradition of the workers' and women's
movements, as well as anti-fascism and anti-racism._

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