Axel Troost, national co-chairperson of the west German-based WASG (Electoral Alternative for Jobs and Social Justice), and Michael Leutert, vice-chairperson of the east German-based Left Party-Party of Democratic Socialism (Die Linkepartei.PDS) in Saxony, were both elected to the German federal parliament in the September 18 national elections on the ticket of the Left Party, which scored 8.7% of the national vote and had 54 candidates elected. Leutert and Troost spoke separately to Green Left Weekly's Norman Brewer.
What is your assessment of what the "grand coalition" government between the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Christian Democrats (CDU) will mean for the German left?
Leutert: For the left, a "grand coalition" means clarity, as the two major parties will now act together in government to enforce anti-social programs. But they could also rely on Free Democrats and even Greens support, as fundamental differences have all but disappeared between all of the four parties. Only the Left Party rejects the current neoliberal course that is being imposed on our society. Unlike mainstream expectations, I don't think that the Greens will turn back to their leftist roots. The opposite will occur — they will adapt to the CDU, make themselves compatible, try CDU-Greens alliances on the state level to test out that constellation for future federal governments.
Troost: We wanted to prevent a right-wing CDU-Free Democrats coalition government, and that's what we have managed. Under the prevailing circumstances, a CDU-SPD "grand coalition" is the best variant for us. We have a strong left opposition — and I don't mean the Greens here; they will develop a profile that is compatible with the CDU for future elections.
Will the Left MPs support an SPD-Greens minority government against the neoliberal right?
Leutert: Never! In public, they always say that [the Left Party] wouldn't be up for negotiations on a coalition, that we just nag and indulge in fundamental "oppositionism". But that's not true. The opposite is the case. We campaigned with our election manifesto and we would negotiate on that political basis — taxing assets, abolishing the welfare-slashing "Agenda 2010" and replacing it with a guaranteed basic income, no German troops abroad, minimum pensions, revamping the education system. The SPD-Green coalition got thrown out, but the CDU-FDP bloc did not get elected in. So voters have clearly rejected neoliberalism. Just in percentage terms, they voted for a "left" majority, as both the SPD and Greens have tried left point-scoring with "tax the rich" and "defend social justice" rhetoric. That reality is what the other parties can't acknowledge. Therefore they won't get any of our votes when it comes to electing the chancellor.
Troost: A clear "No!". We are for a fundamentally different economic system, as well as the abolition of the inhuman Hartz-4 "reforms", a just taxation system, and so on. The SPD and Greens don't want to cooperate with that, and we will not support their neoliberal agenda.
How would you judge cooperation between LP-PDS, the WASG and independent left activists in the election campaign? How will that proceed now after the elections?
Leutert: It differed from place to place, but overall it was quite successful. In Saxony, it went excellently. Our ticket reflected a new left broadness: Besides members of the Left Party and WASG, we had former Greens, ex-SPDers as well as members of the Communist Party (DKP) high on the list. Both the WASG and DKP produced their own campaign material. From here, negotiations on fusing the left will begin on the federal level.
On the state level, we have already set up joint Left Party-WASG strategy and program working groups. How to fit in the DKP, we will have to work out.
Troost: We successfully managed to be united in the campaign. Now, we need to emphasise the differences to achieve clarity on the course of unity talks. It will take us up to two years, but we have the time, and we should take it to discuss left politics on all levels and discover common ground. There are three questions: How do we see participation in governments under current circumstances? How important is the extra-parliamentary wing of the social movements for us? Which additional sectors of the left (like the DKP) can we integrate, that is, how open are we?
How can the extra-parliamentary opposition make use of and also support a strong left in parliament, and do they want it?
Leutert: Their biggest benefit is that through us they regain the chance to carry their positions from the streets into parliament. Most of us play an active role ourselves in the extra-parliamentary opposition. We will set up a contact point for the movements in some offices. We want better networking of the various initiatives and more effective cooperation with the parliamentary left.
Troost: The WASG insists on an extra office for the movements, sponsored by the parliamentary fraction of the left, and we have already set up a commission to deal with it. With this, we want to demonstrate from the very beginning our seriousness about supporting extra-parliamentary movements and get a big profile here. Unions are the strongest force outside parliament, so we will start an initiative together with the unions for developing pro-worker legislation like minimum wages.
From Green Left Weekly, October 12, 2005.
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