Left-wing faction in the Bundestag: Now the liquidators are taking over

The dissolution of the left-wing faction in the Bundestag officially begins today. Assets must be sold and employees laid off. A lot of work for the liquidators.

There is almost nothing left that could remind us of the left-wing faction at the parliamentary group level in the Reichstag building. In the anteroom of the former parliamentary group hall there are only four standing desks with the inscription “The Left in the Bundestag”. The covering of the press wall with the Left logo has already disappeared – as have the posters with sayings from Lothar Bisky, Clara Zetkin and other left-wing legends that previously hung on the walls in the parliamentary group hall.

Even the information signs on the glass doors have already been removed. The winding down or – as it is called in parliamentary German – “liquidation” of the left-wing faction has been underway for a long time, even if it only officially begins today.

The group made the decision to dissolve at its penultimate meeting in mid-November – or had to make it, because 37 members are needed for group status. But the Left only has 28 since Sahra Wagenknecht and nine other members of the Bundestag left the party.

Processing can take years

Thomas Westphal and Uwe Hobler, two long-time employees, are now taking care of what is left of the left-wing faction. As so-called liquidators, they have to liquidate the faction. A job that is probably not very rewarding, but above all quite tedious.

Although the Federal Audit Office specifies a maximum of 18 months for this, there is no fixed legal rule. In addition, the two recent examples show that it can take significantly longer: in the 2002 federal election, the PDS won two direct mandates, but remained below the five percent hurdle. The dissolution of the group then took three years.

It took even longer for the FDP when it was thrown out of the Bundestag after the 2013 election. Five years passed before everything was dealt with – and the Liberals were already back in parliament. The reason was a labor court case that dragged on for years.

Everything has to be sold

At the beginning of the liquidation process, both factions still owned assets worth millions. Money that belongs to the taxpayer and which therefore has to be returned to the Bundestag administration. That’s why Westphal, Hobler and a team of eight other employees from the group now have to record everything that should then be sold at fair value if possible.

This includes all furnishings in the offices that are not already provided by the Bundestag. In addition to furniture, there is also technology such as laptops and a fully equipped media studio with cameras, lighting, sound and editing technology. It also includes three vans that were used by the parliamentary group for events outside the Bundestag.

Left group is not allowed to use anything else

The remaining 28 MPs from the Left would like to continue working together as a parliamentary group. They submitted the application for this at the end of last week. If parliament agrees, the left-wing group would have more rights in parliament. On the other hand, she would also receive financial resources for her work. She would then have to completely re-equip herself. They are not allowed to simply continue to use items that the left faction once acquired.

However, some employees will probably be taken on. The left-wing faction still has 108 employees. You will now be terminated based on your length of service. While the first have to leave in February, the last ones will keep their jobs until the summer of next year. Everyone is also entitled to severance pay.