The New "Left" in Germany Jumps Another Hurdle

By Victor Grossman, Berlin

One big hurdle has been overcome; the election
officials in all 16 German states have ruled that the
new party "The Left" (or the "Left.PDS") is entitled to
a place on the ballot in the key September 16th
election. Some opponents of the new party had raised
constitutional objections and even plan to go to court
if necessary - but their chances are now much slimmer.

The new party is a temporary sort of alliance - "sort
of" because electoral alliances of two parties are not
allowed by the German Constitution. It has overcome
these strictures and achieved legitimacy by becoming a
temporary version of the Party of Democratic Socialism
(PDS) which has opened its slate to candidates from
other groups, especially the recently-formed Electoral
Alternative for Jobs and Social Justice (WASG). It also
changed its name, at special conventions in each state,
to the "Left", adding the letters PDS in states where
it will be advantageous (mostly in the five East German
states). Most members of both groups, the WASG, which
is stronger in West Germany, and the PDS, far stronger
and now often leading in East Germany, hope to join
officially and become a regular new party within a year
or so.

The two agree on most points, especially on a clean
break with the business-friendly, anti-social program
of the Schröder government coalition of Social
Democrats (SPD) and Greens, which was almost totally
supported by the main opposition parties on the right,
the Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats. They
demand a reversal of the cuts in jobless pay, the
increases in medical expenses, the tax breaks for the
wealthy and the support of employers against the unions
which have been dominant in German politics for years.
They also oppose involvement in any wars or sending
troops abroad to intervene in foreign conflicts, which
are barred by the Constitution but frequently engaged
in by the present government - not in Iraq, but in
Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and other areas. All these
policies will be challenged.

Some points need ironing out, partly because the
influence of the unions is stronger in the largely West
German WASG than in the PDS and several specific labor
demands need to be included. Partly, too, because a few
Trotzkyist groups, though small, have more influence in
the WASG than in the PDS. There are also some personal
difficulties, especially in Berlin, where a few WASG
leaders had left the PDS in recent years because of its
participation in the state government, in coalition
with the SPD, which required support of some unpopular,
socially unpleasant measures aimed at getting the city
out of its deep debt.

But these all seem relatively minor problems just now
and, with only four weeks left, electioneering is
moving ahead.

If there had been any hopes of fair treatment in the
media they were soon dispelled. The "Left" Party, often
lumped together with the "extreme right" under the
label "populist", has been under constant attack from
the start. All four major parties fear that their
"united front" in favor of big business and foreign
adventures will be exposed by a fairly large group of
left-wing deputies, headed by two very able orators,
Oskar Lafontaine from the WASG (a former top SPD
leader), who tops the list of candidates in North Rhine
Westphalia, and Gregor Gysi of the PDS, leading
candidate in Berlin. Everything is being done to
blemish their image and weaken the Left Party, and it
has lost a few percentage points in the national polls.
It stands currently at 9 percent. Five percent are
needed to get into the Bundestag. It is still very
strong in the eastern, one-time GDR states.

The main fear of the Christian Democrats, led by the
East German Angela Merkel, whose policies are even
further right than those of the SPD, is that an almost
equal number of seats for the SPD and the Greens on the
one hand (the present coalition) and the Christian
Democrats and Free Democrats on the other, might result
in the delegates from the Left holding the balance of
power.

Although Schröder and his SPD now call for popular
social welfare improvements which they themselves
prevented or disparaged, and have even revived slightly
some of their criticism of Bush policies, there is only
marginal hope that they can recoup their losses in the
polls within four weeks (they now stand at 28%, the
"Christians" at about 40%). There is much speculation
about the possible necessity of forming a "grand
coalition" of SPD and "Christians", without the smaller
parties, but this solution, while exposing the Social
Democrats as total hypocrites, would give the left an
even stronger position as opposition force. It is still
angrily rejected by the more leftish SPD deputies.

The media are as full of speculation as the streets are
now full of election posters. There is suspense about
the TV duel between Gerhard Schroeder and Angela Merkel
on September 4th and, four days later, between the
Greens’ Joschka Fischer, currently Foreign Minister,
Guido Westerwelle of the Free Democrats, and Oskar
Lafontaine of the Left Party.

Despite all efforts to badmouth them, the appearance of
a new force on the left could greatly alter German
politics. The other parties, though putting up as brave
front and trying not even to notice it, while stealing
its program points but insisting they would never join
it in any coalition, are clearly running scared.

Victor Grossman, American journalist and writer, has
lived in Berlin since 1958. He authored the
autobiography "Crossing the River" (University of
Massachusetts Press).