Germany's Left Party Agrees a New Program

• Published in: Debatte (Oxford, England) Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 665 - 673
• Main Author: Werner, Harald
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01.12.2011
• Subjects: Discourse; Germany; Left-wing parties; Political attitude change; Political parties; Programme evaluation; Social democratic parties
• ISSN: 0965-156X; 1469-3712
• DOI: 10.1080/0965156X.2012.703434

The programmatic conference of the German Left Party (Die Linke), held in Erfurt in October 2011, agreed a new program, accepted by 96.9% of the delegates. Commentators who had expected bitter divisions in the party were disappointed. The party had been portrayed as lacking a program, ignoring the fact that, although this was a new program, it was by no means the first. The founding conference of the party in Dortmund in 2007 that united the (largely East German) Party of Democratic Socialism and the West German Electoral Alternative for Labor and Social Justice (WASG) had adopted a provisional program, always referred to as programmatic key points (Eckpunkte) to emphasize its provisional character. But, this claim that the party lacked a proper program that created a certain pressure, as did the various internal crises around such issues as the communism debate, the accusation of antisemitism, and the minor stir created by the birthday tribute to Fidel Castro. Before analyzing the content of the program, it is essential to see it in its historical context and assess its significance within the party itself. Left-wing party programs in Germany have always signalled inner-party developments and relations of forces. Party programs, as a rule, reflect compromises in which one group gets most but not all of what it wants in the eventual document. So it is important to look at the program to discover the relation of forces in the party and the compromises that have been made. Reprinted by permission of Routledge, Taylor & Francis Ltd.