The Left: Who pays for the running of a faction?

The left
Who pays for the settlement of a faction?

As of today, the Left no longer has a faction. Employees will receive their notices of termination these days. And then?

On December 6th, the Left parliamentary group in the Bundestag will be history. From this day onwards it has the status of a “faction in liquidation”. The last time that a parliamentary group was liquidated during a current legislature happened in 1961 with the German Party.

These days, the 108 employees of the group their resignations. Salaries will continue to be paid until the end of the notice period. To do this, the liquidators are drawing on the reserves of the faction that it has formed over the years. Each parliamentary group in the Bundestag is entitled to a basic monthly amount. Since the 2023 financial year, the Left has received allocations of 540,203 euros (including the opposition surcharge). In addition, there is 10,787 euros per parliamentary group member.

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And if there isn’t enough money?

The group uses this money to finance its running costs. She can keep the rest. Those who manage reasonably well usually have something left over. From December 6th, the Left must use these reserves to pay everything, the social plan and salaries, until the layoffs take effect. In total it is likely to be several million euros. If there is not enough money, there is a risk of bankruptcy in addition to liquidation.

How expensive the process will be overall and how long it will take also depends on whether employees take legal action against their termination and whether legal costs are incurred. After the FDP missed re-entry into the Bundestag in 2013, the liquidation formally took more than six years.