Left leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow announced her resignation on Wednesday. In a statement published on the Internet, Hennig-Wellsow gave three reasons for her resignation: Her “private life situation““Dealing with sexism in one’s own ranks“ and the urgently needed renewal of the party, for which “new faces“ are necessary. She is resigning “with immediate effect“she wrote.
“We have delivered too little of what we promised“, explained Hennig-Wellsow. “A real new beginning has not materialized. An apology is due, an apology to our constituents whose hopes and expectations we have betrayed.“
Hennig-Wellsow drew a devastating conclusion about the current state of the Left Party: “Due to our own weakness, we were unable to keep the promise to be part of a forward policy change“, she wrote. “Too few people believed that we were willing and able to actively change this country for the better.“
The left-wing politician also expressed self-criticism in her statement: she had not been able to achieve her goal of initiating a renewal of the left. “I know about the avoidable mistakes that I have made myself“, she wrote. “I also know that I haven’t been able to convince enough those who associate renewal primarily with the fear of losing the familiar, of certainties.“
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With regard to their “private life situation“ Hennig-Wellsow wrote that she has an eight-year-old son “who needs me, who has a right to spend time with me“. She also wrote that the necessary renewal of the party “needs new faces in order to be credible: The left deserves to be led by people who give our supporters and members courage again.“
She also criticized the fact that “dealing with sexism in our own ranks revealed blatant deficits in our party“ have. “I apologize to those affected and support all efforts that are now needed to make the left a party where sexism has no place.“
At the end of last week there was a “Spiegel” report about Crossing boundaries, abuse of power and sexual assault published by the Hessian Left.
With reference to chat logs, emails, photos and affidavits, the “Spiegel” had reported on various alleged assaults and border crossings within the Hessian left.
The documents painted the “image of a party that rarely supported those affected and hardly stopped possible perpetrators,” the report said. (AFP/Tsp)