parties
Pellmann and Reichinnek – New duo for the Left faction
The left has had difficult months. photo
© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa
There are only 28 members of the Left in the Bundestag. But they don’t necessarily agree. This was evident in the election of the chairwoman of their group.
The results of the new group chairmen were very close in two battle votes. MP Clara Bünger and Left Federal Managing Director Ates Gürpinar also applied. Gürpinar withdrew during the course of the proceedings. Bünger was defeated by both Reichinnek and Pellmann in two rounds, each 13 to 14.
The Left is in crisis after the wing around Sahra Wagenknecht split off and is only at three to four percent in surveys nationwide. The left-wing faction dissolved in December after Wagenknecht and nine other MPs left the party. As Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, they now form their own group in the Bundestag with ten members and Wagenknecht as leader.
New faces and a generational change
The two new group chairmen are still little known. Heidi Reichinnek (35) comes from Saxony-Anhalt and entered the Bundestag via the Lower Saxony state list.
Sören Pellmann (47) comes from Leipzig and won a direct mandate there in 2017 and 2021. This and the two direct mandates of Gregor Gysi and Gesine Lötzsch secured the Left’s entry into the Bundestag in 2021 with parliamentary group strength, although it only received 4.9 percent of the second votes.
In any case, a generational change is imminent: The 65-year-old Bartsch, who initially led the parliamentary group since 2015 and now also the new group on a temporary basis, is not running again. All of the candidates for the presidency are significantly younger, but not all that well known.