The Parlamentarische Linke ( en, Parliamentary Left, abbreviated ''PL'') is a
platform
Platform may refer to:
Technology
* Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run
* Platform game, a genre of video games
* Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models
* Weapons platform, a system or ...
within the
Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)'s
Bundestag
The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet") is the German federal parliament. It is the only federal representative body that is directly elected by the German people. It is comparable to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Common ...
group. As of 2022, 96 of the group's 206 members belong to the Parliamentary Left,
making it the largest of the three extant platforms in the SPD group, alongside the
Seeheimer Kreis
The Seeheimer Kreis (; English: "Seeheim Circle") is an official internal grouping in the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). The group describes itself as "undogmatic and pragmatic" and generally takes moderately liberal economic positio ...
and Berlin Network. The Parliamentary Left represents
social democratic positions within the party.
The platform has three speakers:
Matthias Miersch,
Sönke Rix and
Wiebke Esdar.
Elisabeth Kaiser
Elisabeth Kaiser ( Lier, born 4 March 1987) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Thuringia since 2017.
Early career
During her studies, Kaiser worked a ...
is the platform
treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance.
Government
The treasury ...
.
Other prominent members include SPD group chairman
Rolf Mützenich
Rolf Heinrich Mützenich (born 25 June 1959) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag since June 2019.
Early life and education
Mütz ...
and party co-leader
Saskia Esken
Saskia Christina Esken (' Hofer; born 28 August 1961) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been serving as co-leader of the party since being elected in December 2019 (alongside Norbert Walter-Borjans) ...
.
Profile
The Parliamentary Left describes itself as "an association of social democratic members of the Bundestag". It represents the
left wing of the Social Democratic Party, "advoca
ing
Ing, ING or ing may refer to:
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* '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film
* i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group
* The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes''
* "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...
for freedom, equality and social progress".
Their principles are essentially based on the party program that existed until the 1990s. To this end, the platform supports
Keynesian
Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...
approaches to economic and social policy. They were critical of the largely
supply-side
Supply-side economics is a macroeconomic theory that postulates economic growth can be most effectively fostered by lowering taxes, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade. According to supply-side economics, consumers will benefit fr ...
''
Agenda 2010
The Agenda 2010 is a series of reforms planned and executed by the German government in the early 2000s, a Social-Democrats/ Greens coalition at that time, which aimed to reform the German welfare system and labour relations. The declared objecti ...
'' reforms of
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...
's government, but officially called for their amendment rather than repeal.
In the area of tax policy, the PL call for a higher
inheritance tax and the reintroduction of the
wealth tax
A wealth tax (also called a capital tax or equity tax) is a tax on an entity's holdings of assets. This includes the total value of personal assets, including cash, bank deposits, real estate, assets in insurance and pension plans, ownershi ...
. They reject proposals for a strict limitation of the
national debt, and opposed the introduction of the
debt brake. They support efforts to
combat climate change, including internationally-agreed climate targets, strong investment in
renewable energy, and changes to subsidies and taxes for this purpose. In light of the record debt taken on by the federal government during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Germany
The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths.
On 27 January 2020, the first case in Germany was confirmed near Munich, Bavaria. By mid February, the arising cluster of cases had been fully containe ...
, the PL advocates a long-term move away from balanced budget principles, pushing for public investment in education, digitisation, and climate.
The Parliamentary Left favours closer ties with the
Greens and
The Left and the development of
red-red-green coalitions; the first such coalition in a western state was
formed in 2019 under the leadership of
Carsten Sieling, former speaker of the Parliamentary Left.
Organisation
History
The Parliamentary Left finds its origins in the "Group of the 16th Floor" (german: Gruppe der 16. Etage, founded by 21 mostly young SPD Bundestag members in October 1969. This group was associated with the
Extra-Parliamentary Opposition An extra-parliamentary opposition is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections. Many social movements could be categorized as an extra-parliamentary opposition.
Europe
The Ger ...
and pushed for reform within the SPD parliamentary group. The modern platform was officially founded in 1972, then known as the ''Leverkusener Kreis'' (
Leverkusen
Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf.
With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is o ...
er Circle). It was refounded as the Parliamentary Left in 1980.
Spokespersons
Members
The following is a list of members of the Parliamentary Left as of January 2022.
''Our Members''
/ref>
References
{{Reflist
1972 establishments in Germany
Social democracy
Social Democratic Party of Germany
Political party factions in Germany