Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) has warned against the exclusion of the eastern German states. "We are very, very good parts suppliers, almost the China of the West, every third Daimler gets its engine from Thuringia," he told the "Abendzeitung München". "But the corporate tax goes to Stuttgart, and looking at the East as a colony creates a risky area of tension."
For the poor results of his party in the state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg Ramelow made the left there co-responsible: "The AfD offers nothing but indignation.If you respond to it alone with outrage over the AfD, that is not a convincing offer." The left must make clear what "use value" they have.
Wagenknecht makes her party jointly responsible
Even faction leader Sarah Wagenknecht had already made their own party responsible for the election defeat. "We have been the voice of the discontented for many years," said the outgoing left-wing fraction leader in the Bundestag. "By alienating ourselves from our former constituents, we made it easy for the AfD, so we share in their success."
Once upon a time, the Left had achieved dream results of more than 20 percent in both states. But that was 15 years ago. In the state elections in Saxony and Brandenburg, they now only came to a good ten percent - and lost in both cases about eight percentage points. In Saxony, voters went mainly to AfD. In Brandenburg, they also joined the Greens and SPD.
In the state election in Thuringia at the end of October Ramelow now has to defend the only premiership office of the party.