After severe criticism of the left: Wagenknecht defends "economic war" speech

Created: 09/14/2022, 14:20

By: Kathrin Reikowski

Sarah Wagenknecht (left) speaks at the Bundestag debate on the economy and climate protection budget.

© Michael Kappeler/dpa/archive image

Trouble in the Left Party: After Sahra Wagenknecht's controversial speech, important players are leaving the party.

However, Wagenknecht defended her speech.

Berlin - Party exits, allegations against the leaders of the parliamentary group - but also support: Within the party Die Linke there is still turmoil after a speech in the Bundestag.

On September 8, Sarah Wagenknecht gave a speech in which she accused the German government of having "started an economic war against our most important energy supplier, Russia".

The parliamentary group leadership in the Bundestag is now coming under increasing criticism: "The fact that the left-wing parliamentary group let Wagenknecht on the podium last Thursday in the Bundestag and what they then - one should have known - launched was too much," explained Ulrich Schneider , Chief Executive of the Parity Welfare Association.

Like the former MEP Fabio de Masi, he wants to leave the party.

After Wagenknecht's speech on the "economic war against Russia" in the Bundestag

Wagenknecht said in her speech that the policies of Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) would ruin millions of German households and businesses.

Although she described Russia's invasion of Ukraine as criminal, she presented negotiations to resume Russian gas supplies as the only alternative.

Towards the end of her speech, she called for Habeck to resign.

Wagenknecht herself defended her speech on Wednesday to the dpa: "I have rarely received so much approval from the population after a speech as in this case," said the former parliamentary group leader of the left, Sahra Wagenknecht.

She received hundreds of emails and the speech was viewed millions of times.

Wagenknecht: Left party leadership distances itself, faction leadership is silent

Janine Wissler and Martin Schirdewan, co-chairs of the Left Party, had distanced themselves from Wagenknecht's statements, as had some members of the Bundestag faction.

But during Wagenknecht's speech there was repeated applause from the group and a petition within the party for Wagenknecht's position had already gathered 3,000 supporters, according to petition starters.

Party leader Schirdewan is now also taking the leadership of the parliamentary group to task: The party resignations triggered by Wagenknecht's speech were very painful and showed that "the disregard of democratic decisions when appearing on behalf of the parliamentary group by individual members of parliament" caused "massive damage" to the left, Schirdewan told the newspapers of the

on Wednesday.

"It's the task of the group leadership to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again." 

Wagenknecht speech: Bartsch wants to prevent division.

But the parliamentary group leaders Dietmar Bartsch and Amira Mohamed Ali had not commented on Wagenknecht's speech for a long time.

Bartsch is now taking a position - but only on the party exits, not on the speech by Sahra Wagenknecht.

"I will fight any attempts at division with all determination," Bartsch told the

and the

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Bartsch said he would do everything to ensure that the left "performs its social task as the social opposition, especially in view of the chaotic politics of the traffic light government".

(AFP/kat)