With 25.7% of the vote, Germany’s democratic socialist party Die Linke, claims the right to govern in the country’s capital city, Berlin, having consistently led in the Berlin state polls for months, despite smear campaigns by other parties, both left and right. Unsurprisingly, their vote share in the 25 to 34 age group was much higher at 48%, 42% among those aged 16 to 24.
Die Linke’s, Elif Eralp, could become Berlin City state’s first leader of Turkish origin, having more than doubled the party’s share of the 2023 vote. The issue now is finding a coalition partner or partners from within the centre left Social Democrat Party (SPD), whose mayoral candidate Steffen Krach, had placed the expropriation of large real estate companies among his red lines for a potential coalition (the SPD share of the vote plummeted to 12.1%) and/or the Green Party (14.3%) where leader Werner Graf, spoke during the campaign in favour of a possible coalition with Die Linke and the SPD.
ILN’s Steve Hudson reports from Germany
The Wind Beneath Our Wings – Die Linke and the German Greens today
The German Green Party is by now a completely neoliberal pro-war organisation happily parroting mainstream genocide justification. A travesty, considering where they started, and a sobering lesson for GPEW.
The leadership of Die Linke (Left Party) are hardly any better, sadly. Consistently distancing themselves from antizionist members, buying into and reinforcing the slanderous line from Bild / Springer etc that pro-Palestine marches are examples of ‘Judenhass’ (Jew hate).
Elif Eralp, the lead candidate for Berlin’s Left Party, has strongly criticised the performance of a rapper who incited violence at an election campaign event organised by her party’s Neukölln district branch. “Like my party leader Kerstin Wolter, I condemn the performance in Neukölln in the strongest possible terms. Calls for violence and for the killing of people are absolutely unacceptable,” Eralp stated. “I am appalled; those responsible should have intervened immediately.”
The event on Saturday evening at Herrfurthplatz was entitled “Angry at Capitalism”. Scheduled to appear were candidates from the Left Party for the Berlin House of Representatives election and the BVV elections on 20 September – as well as the rapper Dahabflex and other artists. According to a report in the *Tagesspiegel*, Dahabflex is said to have sung a song against Israel’s war in Gaza, containing lines such as “Yalla Yalla Intifada West Bank, Palestine, Gaza” and “Death to the IDF” (Death to the Israeli Defence Forces). Many members of the audience danced and clapped, whilst the politicians present reportedly did not react.
Eralp went on to say: “The Neukölln district branch invited the singer; I expect them to clarify how such a transgression could have occurred and to ensure there are consequences. I stand firmly for the protection of Jewish life and against any form of anti-Semitism.”
Hermann Nehls, co-chair of Die Linke Neukölln, explained that the rapper had been invited because of his stance against war and genocide. However, the song in question had not been agreed upon in advance. Calls for violence against individuals are unacceptable.
The rapper Dahabflex, who performed at the event organised by Die Linke Neukölln, had spoken out on Instagram on Sunday evening. He described the reporting as “distorted” and wrote that the event was being reduced to two lines which were “completely taken out of context”.
Dahabflex also criticised Kerstin Wolter, the regional leader of Die Linke: “It is equally disappointing how uncritically the serious allegations levelled against me and the statements attributed to me are being treated,” said the rapper. “Kerstin Wolter, I’ve no idea who you are, but might you perhaps tell me when I have ever called for violence against civilians?”
The *Tagesspiegel* had previously reported that Wolter had been “furious” about the lyrics performed. She had accused the rapper of calling for the killing of civilians and soldiers in his song.
Die Linke national leadership have sadly been even more willing to buy into the (antisemitic) framing that antizionism is antisemitism.
Personal reflection
“I know Ines Schwerdtner (co chair). She knows her Marx well, but has simply been running scared, unwilling to challenge a virulent post Oct 7 mainstream narrative that any antizionism is antisemitism.
Back in the day Ines and I did a podcast that discussed Corbyn’s Labour at length. It’s more than depressing she’s completely failed to implement the lessons we drew there: that one can’t negotiate with bad faith actors whose only intent is to destroy you, and that one should double down rather than appease.
Moreover – by staying resolute, you win populist support and develop the muscles you’re going to need to implement serious political change in office. The shitstorm is nothing to be feared – it is the wind beneath our wings.
Time and again, the leadership of the left try to play nice with the media establishment and destroy their own credibility with the real electorate in the process. Only Melenchon seems to have understood that the only defence is to call out bad faith attacks for what they are.
Having said that though, the German media are now going into overdrive on how the Linke are a) antisemitic and b) knee deep in criminal Arab clans in an effort to stop them leading a RedRedGreen local govt in Berlin (and taking ex council flats back into public ownership)
The Islamophobia here is wild, but if it serves capital’s purposes, they’ll use it.
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