Lobbyist for big capital, Friedrich Merz, has demonstrated that maintaining the so-called “firewall” against fascism is merely a matter of political expediency for him, as well as for the overwhelming majority of CDU and FDP MPs. Through their voting behaviour on 29 and 31 January, they have made it clear that they are willing to collaborate with fascists when necessary. Nevertheless, Green and SPD leaders are already offering themselves as junior partners in a Merz-led government, having themselves shifted significantly to the right and refraining from any criticism of the fact that the CDU/CSU has openly adopted many of the AfD’s political positions. It is already clear that a coalition with the Merz-Söder Union will only come at the cost of further eroding left-green and left-social democratic demands in favour of the reactionary Union programme.

As part of the right-wing offensive, the BSW engages in nationalist agitation alongside the Right, targeting the poor, recipients of citizen’s income, and migrants in the name of Germany’s economic competitiveness. Their collaboration with the AfD in the second Bundestag vote on 31 January renders the Wagenknecht party unelectable for anti-fascists.

As critical as we are of the Left Party for various reasons – not least for its intolerable willingness to compromise when it comes to governing – and as much as we take issue with parts of its manifesto, which oscillates between emancipatory principles and formulaic compromises, it remains the only party in the Bundestag that represents the themes of social justice, human rights, and internationalism in conjunction with ecological renewal of our economic foundations. If it is no longer represented in the Bundestag and, consequently, in public discourse, there will be no parliamentary pressure from the left on the SPD and the Greens, nor any support for leftists within these parties. For the foreseeable future, there would be no red-red-green parliamentary alternative to a reactionary Merz government, regardless of whether it is flanked by green, pink, or even blue elements.

The absence of the Left Party in the Bundestag would be particularly painful for the societal left-wing movement and for the democratic, feminist, and anti-fascist civil society, as many projects of the anti-fascist and democratic civil society would no longer receive funding from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Given the strength of the AfD at the municipal and state levels, this would lead to a dramatic deterioration in conditions for the work of numerous left-wing initiatives, especially in eastern Germany.

We, the undersigned from leftist movements, therefore appeal to left-wing Greens, left-wing Social Democrats, trade unionists, colleagues, and friends from various workplace and social initiatives to vote for the party DIE LINKE on 23 February 2025. Let us work together to ensure that the only remaining electable left-wing party surpasses the 5% threshold and remains in the Bundestag!

Berlin, 12 February 2025

Signatories:

Thilo Broschell, Teilhabe e.V.

Rolf Euler, Recklinghausen, active locally and in the newspapers Amos and SoZ

Hinrich Garms, social counsellor, Offenbach/Main

Bernd Gehrke, AK History of Social Movements East-West

Paul Geigerzähler, musician, Berlin

Sarah Graber, editor, Sozial.Geschichte Online

Ralf Hoffrogge, active in the Berlin housing movement and with “Deutsche Wohnen & Co enteignen”

Renate Hürtgen, AK History of Social Movements East-West

Kirsten Huckenbeck, editorial team at express, ver.di, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences

Anton Kobel, Heidelberg, editorial team at express, former trade union secretary

Christiane Mende, editor, Sozial.Geschichte Online

Elfriede Müller, jour fixe initiative Berlin

Wolfgang Musigmann, Offene Arbeit, Erfurt

Dr Britta Rabe, Cologne, Committee for Basic Rights and Democracy e.V.

Elske Rosenfeld, district*schule ohne zentrum

Anne Seeck, Teilhabe e.V.

Anna Stiede, Panzerkreuzer Rotkäppchen, #Meckerchor

Sonja Tesch, Hafengruppe Hamburg

Elisabeth Voß, engaged in networks for solidarity-based economy

Veronika Wagner, Omas gegen Rechts, Thuringia

Michèle Winkler, Cologne, Committee for Basic Rights and Democracy e.V.

Gerald Wolf, cabaret artist, AK History of Social Movements East-West