Party conference: Left party limits its Bundestag mandates to twelve years

Left Party members of the Bundestag are supposed to resign after three terms. The federal party conference in Chemnitz passed this term limit in a key motion on Friday evening. The proposal to shorten the term to two terms failed to gain a majority.

The main motion justifies the time limit with "credibility and anti-establishment: We are here to put our heart and soul into making a difference in the world, not to pursue a career." The resolution also called on all Left Party MPs to donate a portion of their salaries to the party's social fund. The elected representatives are also required to be transparent about their income and donations.

The lead motion, entitled "We are the hope," received a large majority of the more than 500 delegates in the final vote. The document sets the framework for how The Left intends to position itself in the coming years and integrate the tens of thousands of new members who have recently joined. A central goal is the party's "campaignability" and a strong focus on important issues such as housing, prices, and the taxation of the wealthy. According to the motion, The Left sees itself as an "organizing class party."

"The Left is back," declared parliamentary group leader Heidi Reichinnek in a celebrated speech at the party conference. "It's such a damn good feeling to have finally won again," she said, referring to the party's surprisingly strong performance in the last federal election. The current Bundestag was opened by Left Party MP Gregor Gysi. At 32 years old, he was the longest-serving member of parliament at the time.

Reichinnek, party leader Ines Schwerdtner, and former Thuringian Minister-President Bodo Ramelow declared their commitment to the goal of ultimately overcoming capitalism. This is not just empty phrases, said Schwerdtner. "This is the core of our politics." Reichinnek said: "Yes, we want to abolish an economic system in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer." This system has nothing to do with democracy. "And if it is radical to demand that everyone gets what they need to live, if it is radical to demand that rights and freedoms apply to everyone and that no one is excluded or treated with hostility, then yes, then we are radical," said the parliamentary group leader.