people - Peter Ritters farewell from the political stage
With tears in his eyes and a heartfelt speech about the crisis of his party, Peter Ritter bid farewell to the political stage today at a conference in Waren at the Müritz Lake. The long-standing state chairman analyzed the achievements and, especially, the failures of his party that ultimately led to the disaster at the European and local elections on June 9.
The current deep CRISIS of the party has roots that reach further back than the past two years, Ritter stated. In the European elections, the Left fell to 4.9%, and in the local elections, they achieved their worst result yet with 8.8%. The disaster should be evaluated at this conference.
"We must urgently find our compass"
The Left had become complacent after entering government coalitions in several federal states and winning landrat and upper mayor positions, criticized the 65-year-old in his opening speech at the state conference. "We have lost our compass and must urgently search for it." Important content-related questions had been overlooked.
One of the failures was the neglect of peace policy, according to Ritter. The current war logic must be broken. To clarify their position, the Left should call for large demonstrations on September 1, for example. September 1, 1939, marked the beginning of World War II with Germany's invasion of Poland.
Ritter calls for action from the Left
The motto for the Left should be "Acting instead of Hesitating" in the future, Ritter urged. He advocated for transforming the remaining offices of the Left in the country into social contact points for people, as was the case in the 1990s.
Additionally, the separation from Sahra Wagenknecht came too late, which caused lengthy debates and prevented important content-related and structural reforms within the party. The public image of the Left was damaged by the long-lasting, publicly aired internal party conflict. Voters could no longer recognize what the Left stood for in important issues and current debates.
At his farewell, Ritter, who also led the Left's state faction for many years, addressed the 100 delegates of his party in Waren: "Do well. Above all, do better." Then, he was embraced by the equally long-standing Left politician Dietmar Bartsch.
The crisis in the party led to poor performances in both the European election and the municipal election in Germany. Ritter linked the current crisis to past oversights, including neglecting peace policy and the delayed separation from Sahra Wagenknecht. To regain voter support, Ritter suggested a shift in focus towards action instead of hesitation, transforming Left offices into social contact points, and clarifying their stance on key issues through large demonstrations, like the one on September 1.
