The results of the elections in Germany on February 23, 2025 for the Bundestag (German Parliament) confirmed what already was brewing for a longer time, a move to the right. Unfortunately, this is a tendency in which Germany is not an exception.

The overall picture shows a victory for the CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats), even a strong victory for the AfD (Alternative for Germany), a heavy loss for the SPD (Social Democrats) and a light loss for Bündnis 90/Die Grünen (Green Party). The FDP (Free Democratic Party) disappeared from the Bundestag because it did not achieve the electoral threshold of 5% and the new BSW (Sara Wagenknecht Alliance), an organization which split off from die Linke (Left Party) is not able to enter the Bundestag because it did not make the threshold.

Despite this turn to the right, there was one ray of hope, the “rebirth” of die Linke. We may speak of a rebirth because, although represented in the Bundestag, in many polls last year this party was seen as in danger of disappearing from the Bundestag. However, since October there was new fervor in this party after the way it handled the split-off of the Wagenknecht group (BSW) and the emergence of a new duo as its leaders. Its support rose a great deal and that resulted eventually in a strong gain in parliamentary mandates compared to the elections of 2021.

Before looking at the context of these elections and examining the results more closely, something needs to be said about the position of die Linke in the parliamentary landscape. Why is this so-called rebirth important for social movements, which are engaged in trying to change the inhuman conditions in German capitalist society?

The position of die Linke in the parliamentary landscape and what it means for the work of the Left

In order to get a clear picture of this landscape we can turn to a February 12 statement by a group of extra-parliamentary non-party-member leftists, who were calling for a vote for die Linke rather than the BSW.(1) They said: “As critical as we are of the Left Party for a variety of reasons – not least because of its intolerable willingness to compromise when it comes to participating in government – and as much as we criticize some aspects of its election manifesto, which vacillates between emancipatory principles and formulaic compromises, it is currently the only party in the German Bundestag that actually represents the issues of social justice, human rights and internationalism in conjunction with the ecological renewal of our economic livelihoods.” They added: “The absence of the Left Party in the German Bundestag would be a particularly painful turning point, especially for the left social movement and for democratic, feminist and anti-fascist movements in civil society, because many anti-fascist and democratic projects in civil society would no longer be able to be financed by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Given the strength of the AfD at the local and state level, this would mean a dramatic deterioration in the conditions for the work of numerous left-wing initiatives, particularly in East Germany.”

These extra-parliamentary leftists distanced themselves from the BSW because they conceive of the BSW “as part of the right-wing offensive” in which “the BSW, together with the right, is inciting hatred in a nationalist manner against the poor, against citizens’ allowance recipients and against migrants in favor of the competitiveness of ‘Germany as a place to do business’.”

The weightiest reason, however, for the position taken by these leftists lies in the fact that the BSW is not an electoral option for anti-fascists.  This was because the BSW agreed to the so-called Influx of Migrants Limitation Act. Friedrich Merz, the leader of the CDU, introduced this Act as proposal in the Bundestag for which he gained the support of the AfD and the BSW. The passing of this proposal meant that Merz actually breached the “firewall” that democratic parties had for decades maintained against the AfD and other neofascists, showing the politically dubious role as well of BSW. That the BSW actually took this position is not surprising, for in their election program we read: “On February 23, a decision will be made about which steps to take. The BSW stands for a real new beginning. Because our country wants less migration!”

The breach of the firewall did lead to much indignation across Germany and brought about many demonstrations in the streets. The peak was the demonstration in Munich where 250.000/300.000 people took part. It gave an extra motivation for the above-mentioned leftists to advocate voting for die Linke and against the BSW.

The context of the these elections and some thoughts about the results

These elections did take place amidst crises of capitalist society all over the world. In analyzing this global dimension, we can observe crises which brought and bring about wars, for example, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Gaza massacre, civil wars as in Congo and Sudan, rising authoritarianism and fascism including the recent return of Donald Trump as president. Likewise, we can observe that the destruction of the living conditions of human beings, other animals, as well as all life, while demagoguery over race and migration is increasingly brought to the fore by the merciless greed of capital for profit.

Capital employs all possible ideological and material means in order to conceal the true causes of these crises. The February elections in Germany affirm this as a particular case.

Let us first look to the results in mandates. In the new Bundestag the CDU/CSU have 208, the AfD 152, the SPD 120, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 85, and die Linke 64 mandates. I leave aside 1 mandate for the Danish minority in the North of Germany. The Bundestag comprises 630 mandates. This means that only a majority combination for a government is possible when it has more than 315 mandates. Because the CDU/CSU do not want to govern with the AfD (would be 358 mandates) they are projecting a government consisting of two parties: CDU/CSU and SPD (328 mandates). They assess a combination of two parties as more stable as one based on three parties, which would include Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.

When we compare the number of mandates with 2021, we see that the CDU/CSU did win an increase of 11 mandates, the AfD 69 mandates, die Linke 25 mandates and the SPD lost 86 mandates, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen 33 mandates and the FDP all of their 91 mandates. Thus, we see that the coalition of SPD, FDP and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, the so-called traffic light coalition, actually lost 210 mandates and was defeated soundly.

A remarkable fact concerning the victory of the AfD is seen in how they won one million votes from the CDU, 890,000 votes from the FDP, 720,000 votes from the SPD and also mobilize 1.8 million votes from people who did not vote in the 2021elections.

Although the AfD did win 69 additional mandates, a substantial number, their influence is much bigger than this quantity suggests. This is because they succeeded by their activity and propaganda in seizing control of the debate over immigration, driving the CDU/CSU further to the right and the BSW to a position in which on issues like migration and Germany as a “place to do business,” actually tried to compete with all the other parties.

As we look to the policy of the former traffic light coalition, we can note that it operated in such a way that in the areas of housing, infrastructure, education, healthcare it turned out to be disastrous for many people and above all for working class people. This coalition managed to enact stricter rules concerning the housing of migrants and war refugees, it made the rich richer, and last but not least, it stirred up the notion of spending of money on armaments. Of course, this last aspect is visible in many European countries. At the moment, we hear in many European countries and above from NATO representatives the call for spending enormous amounts of money on defense, coupled with the ideological slogan that we must be prepared for the possibility of war. This process is gradually assuming hysterical forms.

The CDU/CSU are willing to look to a coalition with stricter rules concerning the housing conditions of migrants and war refugees, and that will stir up of the notion spending more money for armaments. Olaf Scholz, the outgoing SPD chancellor of the traffic light coalition, emphasized again and again in election debates that his coalition had already sharpened the rules for the housing of migrants and war refugees and had also drastically raised arms spending. Henceforth, increased arms spending will be precipitated by the change in relations between Europe and the USA because of the Trump administration.

From the above discussion, it will be clear that the Left in Germany — consisting of die Linke, left social democrats, and as far as they are still present, perhaps parts of or BSW voters and of course the extra parliamentary movements — is up against difficult times.

The great news, however, is that die Linke, although with reformist deficiencies, but with enthusiasm and many new young members, can be a source of inspiration for the struggle against German imperialism and for better conditions for humanity in and outside Germany.

Footnotes

1. See  www.untergrund-blättle.ch/politik/deutschland/aufruf-von-ausserparlamentarischen-linken-zur-wahl-der-partei-die-linke-am-23-februar-008915.html