German Left’s social media hat trick

Ines Schwerdtner is 36 years old and the co-leader of Die Linke, Germany’s Left party and the recent election’s surprise performer. Just a few months earlier, public opinion polls had the party hovering at around 3%. On February 23, however, it managed to grab 8.8% of the vote, despite the recent split caused by the departure of the popular Sahra Wagenknecht, whose newly formed Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) failed to make it into the Bundestag with 4.97%.

Formerly the editor in chief of the German-language edition of the socialist magazine Jacobin, Schwerdtner managed to defeat Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) Beatrix von Storch – whose grandfather was a minister under Hitler – in Berlin’s Lichtenberg district with 34% against the far-right candidate’s 21.9%.

How did the situation turn around so spectacularly for Die Linke in a matter of months, weeks even? Was it Christian Democrat chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz’s alignment with the AfD on the issue of migration, the overall shift of all the parties, even the Greens, to the right, or disappointment in Olaf Scholz’s three-party government?

It was all of that, but we also changed strategy and that helped too. There was a really positive atmosphere in the party after its congress in the city of Halle in October and we considered how we could convey this atmosphere to society. Everyone was ready for the pre-election campaign and when snap polls were called, we were able to address a handful of issues directly, issues that had emerged from our conversations with the citizens. We’d knocked on 600,000 doors and asked, “What is your greatest concern?” The high cost of rent and high prices therefore formed the core of our campaign. We also had a great team of leaders, headed by Heidi Reichinnek and Jan van Aken. So when Merz aligned with the AfD in parliament for a tougher migration policy, we were already on the way up and we emerged as the only reliable force, because people knew that the Social Democrats and the Greens were going to work with Merz post-election. We also stood by migrants the moment that a very tough line was adopted against them, while our presence on social media also contributed, as many young people said that they intended to vote for us.

So the strategy was a combination of online and door-to-door campaigning…

Exactly, online and offline.

Apart from high rents, what are some of the other issues that were on your agenda?

Kindergarten spots, the abolition of VAT on food and higher property taxes. We also decided to set a ceiling on our own salaries in keeping with the average salary, because people are angry at the political system, at the elites and politicians, and at their wealth. This brought us closer to the people, to their living conditions and their concerns and interests.

We often hear young people being accused of taking no interest in politics and not voting. I attended a Die Linke pre-election event in Berlin and it was like a party, with lots of young people, loud music, enthusiasm and political passion. How did you manage that?

We’ve seen a lot of young people becoming politicized recently. Even in the European elections, we noticed that young people are leaning to the right, that many voted for the AfD, in part because of its social media presence. We were able to stop this blue wave, to prove that there’s a progressive alternative. We realized that they have a lot of fear about the future because of the climate, the difficulties in finding a house, because of the war. For many young people, the future does not look optimistic, so we wanted to show them that a society based on solidarity is possible. The number of our members doubled and there were a lot of young women among them, who want to change life for the better. They also need public figures they can relate to, like Heidi Reichinnek, a new and young face in politics, who told them, “I am fighting for you and for your interests.”

Now that you are in the opposition, you have new obligations and responsibilities. What do you plan to do on Merz’s proposal to lift the debt brake and increase spending on defense and infrastructure. I would assume that you’re in favor of the latter but not the former, so how do you plan to deal with this contradiction?

It’s a complex situation because the new government is planning this enormous package, which, however, will be exclusively allocated to the armed forces. The debt brake will be reformed solely for this purpose and for the special fund designated for infrastructure. We cannot support this plan, first, because the two major parties want it to be decided by the previous composition of parliament, which is democratically questionable. That’s why we took the matter to the Constitutional Court. We are not going to give a blank check for an arms package. We can discuss a real reform of the debt brake at the next parliament, one that will help infrastructure and funding to states and communities. We’ve been opposed to the debt brake, which was introduced after the European debt crisis, from the onset. We’ve been hostage to it for 16 years. What is being proposed, though, is a half-measure aimed solely at defense spending.

You seem to have another problem here and that’s not aligning with the AfD. On the debt brake issue, for example, the two parties agree.

It’s only reasonable for the opposition – the AfD, the Greens and us – to question government policy. We will never, however, cooperate with the far-right on any issue. Our positions do not overlap in any way. That said, it may happen that we both vote against the government. This has happened before. We can’t constantly base our decisions on what the AfD does. In fact, doing so does not weaken them – it has the opposite effect. We can’t constantly worry about what the far-right is doing.

How does Die Linke’s position differ from that of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance’s on the issue of Ukraine?

Given that the BSW is not represented in parliament, we are the only party in favor of diplomacy and disarmament. Wagenknecht’s pre-election position was that it was in favor of peace, but it was one-sided, calling on Ukraine to agree to speedy negotiations without a proper peace plan. For our part – under the guidance of van Aken, who has worked at the UN – we advocate the inclusion of the BRICS countries (China, Brazil, India) in the dialogue. We want a settlement at the international level, we have a vision, we want a joint plan with Ukraine. The BSW, in contrast, did not adopt a serious, international approach. It made simplistic promises, such as claiming that reopening the Nord Stream 2 pipeline would solve the energy crisis – an outright myth that also underestimates [Russian President Vladimir] Putin as an imperialist leader.

Would you say that Wagenknecht is in favor of appeasing the Russian president, that she is a “Putinversteherin” or “Putin understander”?

I avoid that term. I would say that her approach is shortsighted and naive in terms of Russian interests and it does not give due consideration to the plight of the Ukrainian people.

What is Die Linke’s relationship with Greece’s leftist SYRIZA? Are they kindred parties? I assume you were envious of its electoral victory in 2015 just as it is envious of your good performance today.

We do follow developments in Greece and we were also opposed to the split of BSW because divisions only weaken the Left. Now, with the issue of military spending at the fore on the European level – [EU Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen has mentioned a figure of €800 billion, bypassing the European Parliament – we urgently need a united left-wing perspective that transcends the individual differences between leftist parties.

How do you explain the discrepancy in voting behavior between men and women? And why do so many young men favor the far-right?

The lack of prospects is more pronounced among young men, especially in the former East Germany and rural areas. Many young women move to the cities, leaving young men behind, alone. They are the losers in this competition. I believe we should make a greater effort to reach out to young men. Unfortunately, the AfD is already doing this. It appeals to these young men and promises them a sense of security by propounding masculinity, strength, violence and the traditional family model.

Another growing trend is the right-wing shift of the working class all over the world, including the United States. What do you attribute this to?

There are many reasons. Socialist and social democratic parties lost the working class in the last couple of decades partly because they were forced into government compromises, but also because they failed to address the concerns of working people, especially those in a precarious situation. This is our goal: to change course. To assure these people that we will stand by their side unconditionally and not make hasty concessions that they will later see as betrayal. We placed too much emphasis on left-wing academic circles and forgot our social base, the people working in services, healthcare, education and even industry. We have lost touch with them. And now we have to rebuild this trust.