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Germany: Left Party to disband parliamentary faction

November 14, 2023

Far-left German opposition party Die Linke has decided to disband its parliamentary faction amid ongoing internal splits. The unusual move follows the recent resignation of Sahra Wagenknecht to form her own new party.

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Porträt Sahra Wagenknecht
Wagenknecht's controversial views have often caused a rift in The LeftImage: Fredrik von Erichsen/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's opposition socialist Left Party (Die Linke) announced on Tuesday that it would dissolve its faction in the German Bundestag as of December 6 following a series of internal splits.

In October, prominent left-wing politician and former Left Party parliamentary co-chair Sahra Wagenknecht announced her resignation from the party and her intention to found a new populist party which experts believe could threaten both the Left Party and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Wagenknecht has taken nine other colleagues with her, leaving the Left Party short of the minimum 37 lawmakers required to form a caucus in the Bundestag and prompting the dissolution after 18 years in the German parliament's lower house.

The disbanding of a parliamentary faction midway through a parliamentary term is an unusual occurrence in Germany politics, which typically happens only in the wake of election defeats.

What will happen to Germany's Left Party now?

Without its faction status, the Left Party will lose some of its parliamentary rights and state funding for its 108 members of staff, who will lose their jobs.

Left Party faction leader Dietmar Bartsch said it was "not a good day, but nevertheless a chance for a new start."

Left Party dissolves parliamentary group after defections

Two new parliamentary groups are now expected to emerge with the remaining 28 Left Party members on the one hand and Wagenknecht and her supporters on the other.

Wagenknecht has already officially announced plans to found her own breakaway party which is set to contest European and German state elections next year.

An association under the name "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - For Reason and Justice" is a preparatory step for the founding of a party and it has started collecting donations for this purpose.

Wagenknecht has been one of the most prominent and controversial figures in German politics over the last two years, positioning herself close to the far right on topics such as migration, gender and climate but remaining left-wing on economic issues and retaining a pro-Russia and anti-NATO stance typical of the far left.

mf/lo (AFP, dpa)

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