She, whose name must not be mentioned, is not mentioned in Rathenow either. At least not publicly and not by name. The Left Party wants to prepare for a “hot autumn,” Sahra Wagenknecht is only a nuisance. She had recently caused much more heat in the party than the upcoming autumn – with a speech in the Bundestag last Thursday, in which she demanded that the “stupidest government in Europe” end the “unprecedented economic war against our most important energy supplier”, hence the sanctions against Russia. The party leadership distanced itself from this position, as did many of Wagenknecht’s party members. But the dispute continues to smolder.
At the weekend, the new party leadership went into retreat in Rathenow, Brandenburg, and the word sanctions was not even mentioned in a short press conference afterwards, nor was the name Wagenknecht. The term “hot autumn” is used all the more often: the Left Party wants to take the protest against rising prices and the threat of impoverishment among broad sections of the population onto the streets. To do this, she is now looking for a big alliance, with trade unions or social organizations, for example.
The model is the British campaign “Enough is enough”, in which trade unions and associations campaign against poverty and rising prices. “As leftists, we won’t be able to do this alone,” says party leader Janine Wissler. The party has scheduled a nationwide day of action for next Saturday. More than 270 district associations have already requested materials for protests, says Wissler’s co-boss Martin Schirdewan. “Broad alliances” are the goal everywhere, he says. The only question is how many allies can be found as long as the party personnel represent such different positions.
The closed session makes it clear where the left is headed: it attacks corporations and profits
While the party leaders in Rathenow still have to answer the third and fourth question about their dealings with Wagenknecht, a protest march forms in Erfurt on Sunday, its motto: “Not with us! – We don’t freeze for profits!”. It was organized by the German Federation of Trade Unions – together with workers’ welfare and climate protection groups from Fridays for Future, among others. At the same time, in Plauen, a good 100 kilometers away, the “Forum for Democracy and Freedom” took to the streets, among other things against the sanctions against Russia. The hot autumn has already begun.
The closed session makes it clear where the Left Party wants to orientate itself: It attacks corporations and profits. Public services of general interest must be in public hands. “The market simply doesn’t regulate anything here,” says Schirdewan. “We are calling for the expropriation of the large energy companies.” The party also wants a cap on gas and electricity prices. Wissler complains that what the coalition has planned in terms of relief so far is not enough for the poorest. “You can’t get through the winter with a one-time payment of 300 euros.” As the only force left of the traffic light, the party must make this clear. “We will not allow right-wing forces to exploit this for themselves.”
Of course, there is also criticism of the previous relief from the coalition itself. Bundestag President Bärbel Bas (SPD), for example, spoke in the picture on sunday to word. “I would have wished for more differentiation in order to specifically help the weakest,” she says. A fourth relief package is therefore also conceivable. “In order to cushion the worst of it, especially for people with low incomes,” says Bas, “we have to be prepared to do it again if the crises progress.” She sees the social situation in the country as “dramatic” given the rising prices everywhere.