Bundestag - Gysis' long road to the lectern
A seat in the back row, two minutes of speaking time - for the Left Party, the new normal has begun in the Bundestag following the dissolution of its parliamentary group. Prominent MPs such as party leader Janine Wissler, former parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch and the veteran Gregor Gysi followed the government statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the subsequent debate from the last row in the plenary.
While Bartsch was the fifth speaker after Scholz's government statement on the budget situation at the end of November, Gysi was only the 13th speaker.
With a smile on his face
Gysi was announced as "non-attached" according to his current status and had to walk an unusually long way to the lectern, which he did with a smile on his face. The speaking time, which was only two minutes, must also have been unusual for him. Gysi used it to call for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
On his way to the lectern, Gysi passed a kind of building site: where his parliamentary group used to sit, on the far left of the lectern, the first two benches had been removed. They are the place of the parliamentary group leadership, which the Left no longer has.
The Left Party MPs have their former colleague Sahra Wagenknecht to thank for this new situation, as she has left the party along with nine other MPs. As a result, the Left Party also lost its parliamentary group status because it now has too few MPs. It disbanded on December 6.
The 28 MPs remaining in the Left Party and the new "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance" now want to be recognized as a group in the Bundestag - this would give them more rights than the status of non-attached MPs provides for. It is also about financial support. The decision on this will be made by the Council of Elders.
AfD calls for Petra Pau's resignation
The fact that the Left Party is no longer a parliamentary group could also cost Petra Pau her office as Vice-President of the Bundestag. The AfD, which has tried in vain for the second consecutive parliamentary term to obtain a vice-presidential post, has called on the Left Party politician to resign in a motion. Pau is also unstoppable from the point of view of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. In a motion, she is calling for the Bundestag's rules of procedure to be amended so that membership of the Bundestag presidium ends with the loss of parliamentary group membership.
Pau has so far refused to resign. Bundestag President Bärbel Bas demonstratively backed her deputy. The SPD politician declared in mid-November that she "not only enjoys the high esteem and recognition of all parliamentary groups, but also of me personally".
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- Despite being announced as "non-attached" and having to walk a long distance to the lectern with a smile, former Left Party leader Gregor Gysi utilized his two-minute speaking time in the Bundestag to advocate for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and the protection of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza.
- Janine Wissler, the current leader of the Left Party, and Dietmar Bartsch, a prominent former parliamentary group leader, joined other Left Party MPs in listening to the government statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) from the back row of the Bundestag.
- With Sahra Wagenknecht and nine other MPs leaving the party, the Left Party lost its parliamentary group status and now has only 28 MPs remaining, resulting in a significant reduction in their speaking time and influence in the Bundestag.
- Gregor Gysi's former parliamentary group's seats, which were located on the far left of the lectern, now have the first two benches removed, symbolizing the Left Party's loss of parliamentary group leadership.
- The AfD parliamentary group has called for Petra Pau, vice-president of the Bundestag, to resign due to the Left Party's loss of parliamentary group status, while the CDU/CSU parliamentary group supports her continuation in office.
- Despite the AfD's call for her resignation, Petra Pau has refused to step down, with Bundestag President Bärbel Bas publicly backing her deputy.
- Although the Left party has become non-attached MPs in the Bundestag, they are seeking recognition as a group to gain more rights and financial support, as they believe this would improve their position in German politics.
Source: www.stern.de
