The Left (Germany)

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(Redirected from Die Linke)
The Left
Die Linke
LeaderJanine Wissler
Martin Schirdewan
Founded16 June 2007
HeadquartersKarl-Liebknecht-Haus
Kl. Alexanderstraße 28
D-10178 Berlin
IdeologyDemocratic socialism
Political positionLeft-wing
European affiliationParty of the European Left
International affiliationNone
European Parliament groupGUE/NGL
ColoursRed and purple
Website
www.die-linke.de

The Left (German: Die Linke), sometimes called the Left Party (German: die Linkspartei), is a political party in Germany. It is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. It is considered to be left-wing populist by some researchers. The party is the direct descendant of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). It was formed on 16 June 2007, when The Left Party.PDS joined with WASG to form a unified party. The Left is a founding member of the Party of the European Left. It is also the largest party in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament.

According to official party figures, the Left Party had 60,350 registered members as of December 2020. It is the fifth-largest party in Germany.

The party participates in governments in many states including Brandenburg, Thuringia, and Berlin. The Left parliamentarian Bodo Ramelow is the Minister-President of Thuringia.

While the PDS was considered by German authorities as extremist, the WASG was not considered extremist.[1] The party is the most left-wing party of the six represented parties in the Bundestag. It has been called far-left by some news outlets. The German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungschutz) states that the party is not regarded as extremely left or a threat to democracy. However, it does monitor some of its internal factions, such as Socialist Left.

Related pages[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. "Verfassungsschutzbericht 2008 p. 6". Archived from the original on 2010-12-23. Retrieved 2011-01-20.

Other websites[change | change source]