left faction
Gysi resigns as foreign policy spokesman
“In the future you will have the pleasure of being able to do your work without me”: Gregor Gysi. photo
© Annette Riedl/dpa
Gregor Gysi gives up his post as foreign policy spokesman for the left. He announces his resignation from the office – he does not give a reason.
The 75-year-old did not give a reason. The parliamentary group said that Gysi had communicated his decision to the board some time ago. There is no current political reason.
Group spokesman Michael Schlick said Gysi did not want to reduce his work for the group. “He is trying with others to set up an inquiry commission to investigate all questions relating to the pandemic and Corona,” explained Schlick. “There are many questions from the population who are also looking for answers in this regard.”
Leading role in party and parliamentary group
Gysi is one of the best-known and most popular politicians on the left. He has played a key role in the party and parliamentary group for decades. In 2021 he won one of three direct mandates and thus helped to secure the left’s entry into parliament with the strength of a faction. The party and parliamentary group are currently in crisis because of a directional dispute.
In his speech in the Bundestag, Gysi himself thanked the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee for treating each other fairly. “In the future you will have the pleasure of going about your work without me,” he said.
Gysi had previously advocated a ceasefire in Ukraine and peace negotiations. He called the “gigantic rearmament” in the federal budget superfluous. Gysi emphasized: “The civil side, diplomacy, disarmament, the reconciliation of interests and compliance with international law from all sides are our real chance.”
Resignation from office previously threatened
At the beginning of the Ukraine war in the spring of 2022, Gysi had already threatened to resign as foreign policy spokesman – at the time in an internal dispute with supporters of his party colleague Sahra Wagenknecht. In a NATO statement, they shared responsibility for the war Russia had started against Ukraine and criticized the delivery of weapons to Ukraine.
At the time, Gysi complained that MPs had ignored him as foreign policy spokesman. And he had formulated a different position in terms of content: He accused his party colleagues of giving Ukraine “only the chance of unconditional surrender.” He himself, on the other hand, supports a right to self-defence, Gysi explained at the time.