The Left in Germany and the Crisis

1. The Left in Germany and the Crisis Cornelia Hildebrandt / Anna Striethorst

2. rls General Situation in 2009 • Finance market crisis has not yet reached population but uncertainty about its real magnitude grows • The negative results have reached only the “contract staff", temporary workers with a limited employer-employee relationship • Short term measures for the coping of the crisis continue: reduced working time particularly in the branches that are important for structure such as automobile industry, electrical industry – we lost 50.000 working places in this part of economy(December 2009 = 3,5 Mio. unemployed ) • People feel that their own situation is better than the general economic situation, even in spite of the crisis estimations are better than 2005 – this thesis confirms the Heitmeyer study “Deutsche Zustände”

3. Important topics for the election rls The discourse of the crisis in regards to social justice has moved into the background, instead discourse of security -> no policial experiments

4. rls Perception of crisis, own situation and economic future „I worry about my economic future“ – 2009 51% approval, January 2010 only 43%-> less fear of crisis

5. rls Election campaigns • CDU: Crisis above all an economic crisis, light focus on social and ecological questions • SPD: Tame election campaign in order to establish itself as a potential coalition partner in case of a continued grand coalition – it was very unclear: workers? social climber? • The FDP: „Who works must have more and achievement must be worthwhile“ + promoting itself as a civil rights party • Greens: Aimed to become the third strongest party in parliament – linking of ecological, social and economic questions • DIE LINKE: Promoted itself as a party for social justice and peace. Focus on social questions: neoliberal working-market-order: Hartz IV, pension in the age of 67, education and a retreat from Afghanistan

6. Election Results 62,2 Mio. voters Participation 2009: 70,8, (77,7% 2005) 3.556 candidates 29 parties rls

7. rls Election Results • 33,8% CDU – worst result since 1949 • 23,0% SPD – loss of 6 Mio. votes (since 1998 loss of half of the voters) • 14,6% FDP - good results • 10,7% Greens – good results • 11,9% LINKE – best result so far, in the Eastern Länder LINKE is strongest or second strongest party • Surprisingly LINKE received 16 constituency mandates

8. rls Sitzverteilungdeutliche Mehrheit für schwarz-gelb

9. rls Shift of voters

10. rls No coalition has a majority No preference for red-red-green coalition

11. rls Trade Union Members divided Since 2005 moderate gains of DIE LINKE among trade union members 10% less for SPD, clear gains for FDP, CDU remains same

12. Consequences of elections for DIE LINKE • For the first time no majority for the wide left • DIE LINKE shares opposition with social democrats and Greens • Other parties represent increasingly anti-neoliberal positions, e.g. SPD demands a minimum wage, longer pay of unemployment benefit, modification of Hartz IV laws • But still no common left project – the relation of the left towards social democracy is unclear

13. rls Internal challenges of DIE LINKE after the elections - DIE LINKE in the East is a governing party, in the West it remains in opposition - Party is still in founding process, power vacuum after Bisky´s and Lafontaine´s retreat - Dispute: DIE LINKE as an antineoliberal or anticapitalist party or party that is critical towards capitalism – crucial issues remain undecided such as stance towards private property, analysis of capitalism, participation in governments - Discussion on stance towards SPD as a strategic partner and on organisation of party – basis democratic or rather democratic-centralistic

14. rls Voters of the Left

15. rls The perception of the crisis within DIE LINKE • All interpretations of the crisis are represented within the left: Finance market crisis, economic crisis, crisis of neoliberalism, crisis of capitalism, new character of crisis as an interweaving crisis • Parliamentary Group: Crisis is the heaviest economic crisis for 80 years. It has destroyed 50,000 jobs in Germany, in the metal industry and electrical industry more than 5% of jobs. • Party executive committee: Crisis of the economic system which produces alone for the profit, structural crisis of the export economy Germany • The worst has been prevented up to now by reduced working hours, by dismantling of extra hours and by changed statistics.

16. rls Demands of DIE LINKE - economy and labour relations Good work – general minimum wage of 10 euros Protection against unfair dismissal Taking back of the liberalisation of temporary work and subcontracted employment A future fund of 100 billion euro that finances climate and infrastructure projects Publicly funded employment sector for 500.000 people

17. rls Demands of DIE LINKE - Social Security • Lengthening of the short-time worker's money for a period of 36 months • Lengthening of unemployment benefits for 24 months • Increase of the unemployment benefit II (social help) to 500 euro • New calculation of the social help for children – judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court demands reorganization • Restoration of the old pension formula – connection to the wage development

18. rls Demands of DIE LINKE – Taxes and Banks • Tax for those with property of more than 1 million euros – max. 5% = 80 million euro per year • Rise of the inheritance tax and of the top rate of income tax • Nationalization of the banking sector, taxation of financial transactions, ban of Hedgefonds and private equity societies, stock market sales tax • DIE LINKE makes methods of the Government public: e.g., the Government paid 1.8 billion euro for a 25-percent portion of Commerzbank

19. rls Valuation of Demands • Many demands which are raised now have already been raised since 2005 – no change of the strategy but radicalization of demands • There is a changed weighting in favor of the demands for a “future fund” • Lack of demands which refer to the interweaving of the crises – there are no concrete projects in regards to a social-ecological transformation • In order to develop concrete demands the questions of strategy and programme need to be tackled first

20. rls Perspectives of a left alliance: what does the SPD? Discourse on analysis of the crisis changes: Crisis is a crisis of the whole system of market radicalism -> Regulation of the finance markets, keynesian attempts -> Close alliance with the trade unions -> popular demands for removal of university fees, wealth tax, stock market sales tax, a rise of the top rate of income tax

21. rls Is a left alliance possible? - There are certain overlaps between the demands of DIE LINKE and the SPD but there is no common left project - People get active when they have the impression that their interests are concretely threatened -> difficult to organise protests against crisis - Division of work: DIE LINKE - Social Justice, SPD - Justice of Chances

22. rls Current challenges Conservative-liberal coalition runs the risk to speed up new privatization processes (budgetary situation), danger of dismantling of social rights and employee's protection -> Mobilization and radicalization of trade unions and social movements with the result of increased tensions between these movements

23. rls Consequences for DIE LINKE-> DIE LINKE must learn to understand tensions within the left as a productive process of its renewal and become able to connect with trade unions and social movements-> The left needs an alternative project capable of hegemony for a social-ecological rebuilding in a solidary society -> DIE LINKE must resolve its dispute about a range of open programmatic questions such as: growth and development, the social state in the 21st century, the role of collective security systems, the left in governments, social transformation

24. Thank you for your attention!www.rosalux.de