When the Left Rings 139,000 Times

Although they have hardly slept, Jan van Aken, Ines Schwerdtner and Heidi Reichinnek hardly show any signs of tiredness. The top trio of the Left Party entered the hall of the Federal Press Conference on Monday afternoon in a great mood. "The Left is back," van Aken begins his remarks, visibly proud.

That can hardly be disputed. With 8.8 percent and 64 representatives, the party, which was only recently declared dead, is returning to the Bundestag. And it is suddenly more important than ever. Because without the Left, the Union, SPD and Greens no longer have a majority in parliament to change the constitution - at least as long as they do not want to join forces with the AfD. The Left is therefore the "deciding factor," says co-party leader Schwerdtner.

Increasing German military spending through a new "special fund" or through a relaxation of the debt brake? That is a "no go," says its co-chairman van Aken. Otherwise, the Left will wait and see what the new government will present in terms of the debt brake, Schwerdtner seconds. After all, the Left has been "against the debt brake from the very beginning." "Of course we expect to be included in discussions," says Reichinnek. Success makes you confident.

In Erfurt, Bodo Ramelow pumps his fist three times as the forecast for the federal election flickers across the screen at 6 p.m. on Sunday evening in the Zughafen cultural station. The party's return to the Bundestag was a brilliant success. The guests at the Left Party's election party in the Thuringian state capital cheered wildly.

Tension in Thuringia

"It's been six months since we experienced a difficult evening together here," Ramelow calls out to his comrades from the stage. So much has happened since the lost state election last September. The 69-year-old former prime minister raves about the thousands of new members and the "spirit of optimism that we have created together."

And then there was the "Silverlock Mission". Ramelow launched it in mid-November together with Gregor Gysi and Dietmar Bartsch to give the Left, which was still on the ground at the time, at least some hope of getting back into the Bundestag by gaining three basic mandates. Now that the party has easily cleared the five percent hurdle, it is actually no longer particularly relevant whether it also managed to get the basic mandates.

But Ramelow is still excited about his performance in the Erfurt-Weimar-Weimarer Land constituency. "It would not be a good development for this constituency to go to an AfD member," says Ramelow. After all, the Buchenwald concentration camp memorial and the Topf & Söhne memorial site are located there . The company built crematoria for concentration camps.

But it takes a while until the first votes are counted. First, another number is doing the rounds: According to the first projection, the AfD received 43 percent of the second votes in Thuringia. The news puts a real damper on the party. "It torments me when I see the blue bar for Thuringia as a whole," says Ramelow. In the end, the fascist party received 38.6 percent.

For the first time in West Germany

But at least Ramelow actually wins his constituency. With 36.8 percent, he wins well ahead of the AfD man, who gets 26.7 percent. It is the only constituency in Thuringia that does not go to the AfD. The situation is no different in Saxony. There, only Sören Pellmann, the co-chairman of the Left Group in the Bundestag, can beat the AfD candidate in Leipzig with 36.8 percent.

The "Silverlock Mission" didn't quite work out . Former Left Party leader Bartsch didn't make it in Rostock, albeit just barely. But the Left Party cleaned up in Berlin: In addition to Gysi in Treptow-Köpenick (41.8 percent), Ines Schwerdtner won in Lichtenberg (34 percent), Pascal Meiser in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg-Prenzlauer Berg Ost (34.7 percent) and Ferat Koçak in Neukölln (30 percent). The Left Party became the strongest party in the federal capital with 19.9 percent of the second votes.

Hardly anyone expected Pascal Meiser's victory; the old constituency of Christian Ströbele, who died in 2022, was considered an impregnable Green stronghold. An even bigger sensation, however, is the success in Neukölln. It is the first time that the Left Party has won a constituency in West Germany.

Ferat Koçak only dares to go on stage in an event hall in Neukölln, south of Tempelhofer Feld, when it is clear that he cannot be caught. "All together against fascism," chants the audience as the 45-year-old begins his speech. Some have tears in their eyes. "I kiss your eyes, I kiss your hearts, I actually want to hug you all," Koçak begins his speech, "it is so incredible what we have achieved together."

Don't forget Neukölln

As he speaks, the number of votes counted climbs steadily, but Koçak's lead remains. "Many people with a migration background know this: people don't believe us, they don't trust us, they think we can't do it anyway," Koçak calls out to the audience. "But we have made history."

Above the entrance, red balloons show the number 139,000 - that's how many doors the Left and its supporters have knocked on in the district. "Team Ferat" is emblazoned on the wall in golden letters.

In total, almost 2,000 activists are said to have taken part in the Neukölln door-to-door campaign . "My grandfather told me never to forget where I come from," says Koçak, "and I relate that to Neukölln." As he has done so far as a member of the Berlin House of Representatives, he wants to continue to go to people's doors, hold his social consultation hours, spend more time on the streets than in parliament. And in a year's time, at a district meeting, he wants to discuss with the people of Neukölln whether he is representing their concerns in a worthy manner in parliament.

900 people came, and the guests themselves brought the lavish buffet. Betül Havva Yılmaz was not allowed to vote herself, but she is beaming from ear to ear. "We fought so hard and now we have won." Her gaze keeps wandering to the projections on the wall, as if she cannot yet believe the results. "Ferat is our voice," says Yılmaz. "He says what we migrants want to say."

A conciliatory ending for Petra Pau

That's why she started door-to-door campaigning with comrades from the Turkish left-wing Workers' Party TIP . "Many people I spoke to at the doors are native Turkish speakers themselves," says Yılmaz. "I think it makes a difference when someone speaks to you in your language and asks about your concerns."

She was particularly touched by her encounter with one woman. "In all the time she has lived here, no one has ever rung her doorbell to speak to her," the woman said. "This is just the beginning," says Yılmaz. "We will stand up against fascism."

At the federal party's election party in the Glashaus in Berlin-Alt-Treptow, top candidate Reichinnek and Bundestag Vice President Petra Pau toasted the brilliant result. For 61-year-old Pau, it is a conciliatory end to a long political career, first in the Berlin House of Representatives and since 1998 in the Bundestag. She has experienced the highs and lows of the PDS as well as the Left Party. She has decided not to run again in this federal election.

How does she explain her party's resurgence? "We have pooled our strengths," Pau told taz. "You can put everything else aside if you have a common goal." For many years, the Left Party was unable to do this. For Reichinnek, too, the key to success is concentrating on what we have in common. "The fact that we all pulled together, that we focused on social issues, that paid off!" she told taz. Then the two women toast once more and disappear into the celebrating crowd.

Van Aken "totally blown away"

Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg traveled from Saxony to the election party in a former bus depot on the Spree. "We have put aside the internal party dispute that used to paralyze us," says the 44-year-old state parliamentarian. But that does not mean that everyone is now in agreement. "There are very different ideas about foreign policy and the welfare state." Leaving that out of the election campaign was the right thing to do, "but we have to clarify it in a program debate." These would certainly be tough debates.

After his appearance on the "Berlin Round" on ARD and ZDF, Jan van Aken returns to the Left Party election party. He is still "totally blown away," he tells taz. "It touches me when I think that more than 4.3 million people have now voted for the Left Party." Is everything now OK in the party? "Everything is never OK with the Left Party," says van Aken. "Ten people, 20 different opinions."

The question is whether it will be possible to moderate differences internally or whether they will lead to a public dispute. "I think that after this incredible success there will be many who will say: it worked well, let's keep going like this," says van Aken confidently. That is why he is "very optimistic at the moment."