Parties - Left Party leader leaves political future open
After the disastrous defeat in the European election, Links chairman Martin Schirdewan is open about whether he will remain in office. "I will inform you in due time if I will run again," Schirdewan told the "Tagesspiegel".
The federal executive committee of the Left will be regularly re-elected at the party conference in October. Schirdewan has been co-chairing the party with Janine Wissler for two years. In the European election, the Left received only 2.7 percent of the votes, about half as much as five years ago. Schirdewan was himself the lead candidate.
Now he said: "There's no way around it. We can't just sweep this under the rug." Recently, Bundestag deputy Gesine Lötzsch criticized the party leadership, as did social doctor Gerhard Trabert, who wanted to go to the European Parliament for the Left. Due to the low number of votes for the party, he did not receive a mandate.
"There can be no business as usual"
Schirdewan said the Left would first conduct an internal analysis. "But it's clear that consequences must be drawn. There can be no business as usual." The party chairman had already said on election night on June 9 that the party would work on structural and programmatic adjustments for the Bundestag election in 2025 and "also personnel for the future."
The declared goal is to return to parliamentary strength in the Bundestag. However, the party is significantly below five percent in the polls.
Martin Schirdewan, the chairman of The Left in Germany, expressed his intentions about his future in the party leadership after the party's dismal performance in the European elections. The Left, led by Schirdewan and Janine Wissler, only managed to garner 2.7% of the votes, a significant drop from five years ago. The Daily Mirror reported Schirdewan's statement that "there can be no business as usual" in light of the election results. The federal executive committee of The Left is scheduled to be re-elected at the party conference in October. Despite the criticism from Bundestag deputy Gesine Lötzsch and social doctor Gerhard Trabert, Schirdewan reiterated his commitment to making necessary adjustments for the Bundestag election in 2025, emphasizing the need for both structural and programmatic changes, as well as considering personnel for the future. Martin Schirdewan, along with The Left, aims to regain parliamentary strength in the Bundestag, currently falling significantly below the 5% mark in polls.
