Germany’s entire left-wing party spectrum is facing a downward trend and grappling to redefine itself.
This applies especially to the opposition Left Party, which is struggling not to fall below the 5% threshold for representation in parliament, but also to the center-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the environmentalist Greens, who form the current federal government together with the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP).
Left Party dissolves parliamentary group after defections
In the first survey of 2024 conducted by pollster Infratest Dimap, the Left Party, SPD and Greens together garnered only 31% support, which put them on a par with the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union CSU. The far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), meanwhile, has seen its support double since the last general election in 2021 to reach 22%.
According to political scientist Werner Patzelt, the main reason for the decline of left-wing parties is that they are perceived not to care enough about the so-called ordinary people. This part of the population, says Patzelt, is struggling at a time of price hikes and lack of affordable housing and has little to do with “woke,” left-wing ideas championed by left-wing parties.
The term “woke” has entered the German political jargon to describe those who claim a keen awareness of social justice and fight racism. Patzelt says these issues are primarily addressed by the left-wing academic elite. And if this does not change, Patzelt warns, the left should not be surprised “if ordinary people tend to pin their hopes on the right.”
Anti-immigration rhetoric
Sahra Wagenknecht’s new party, however, is not openly hostile towards immigrants. “Immigration and the coexistence of different cultures can be an enrichment,” reads her political platform, but it continues: “However, this only applies as long as the influx remains limited to a level that does not overburden our country and its infrastructure and as long as integration is actively promoted and successful.”
Wagenknecht considers Germany’s long-standing culture of welcoming refugees, initiated in 2015 by then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), to be “highly problematic.” Not because these people do not deserve a better life, she emphasizes. “But because our country is simply overburdened as a result.”
Wagenknecht’s party’s manifesto contains skeptical and cautionary words about migration: “The price for increased competition for affordable housing, low-wage jobs and failed integration is not primarily paid by those who are well off.”
Such sentiments remind political scientist Werner Patzelt of the Querfront — a term originating in the Weimar Republic before the far-right nationalists took over: Back then there were attempts at cooperation between the far-right and far-left to unite forces in an effort to gain power.
The SPD and Greens have now also made a U-turn on migration policy and want to limit irregular immigration to Germany. At the same time, they are planning cuts in economic and social policy. “Reality is being forced upon these parties,” says Patzelt.
He suggests that the SPD and the Greens should learn from governments in Denmark and Sweden. There, it has paid off for social democrats to adopt a restrictive migration policy.
Germany’s left-wing parties, he believes, should focus on “the little people whose familiar living environments are endangered by globalization and the migration that accompanies globalization, among other things.”
The Left Party has strongly committed itself to a policy of open borders. This is symbolized by its lead candidate for the upcoming European Parliament elections, Carola Rackete, a climate and human rights activist who became prominent for her role in helping refugees in distress at sea. Her nomination is not yet paying off in the polls.
Far-left splinter parties such as Germany’s communist party DKP play no role in the political debate. The DKP, founded in 1968 in the Federal Republic of Germany, has less than 3,000 members whose average age is 60.
All parties that position themselves on the left of Germany’s political spectrum are likely to face an uphill battle in elections for the European Parliament in June 2024 and elections in three eastern German states in September.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
