The Parlamentarische Linke ( en, Parliamentary Left, abbreviated ''PL'') is a platform within the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

(SPD)'s Bundestag 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 and Berlin Network. The Parliamentary Left represents

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

positions within the party. The platform has three speakers:

Matthias Miersch Matthias Miersch (born 19 December 1968) is a German criminal defense lawyer and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as Member of the German Parliament since 2005, representing the Hannover-Land II district. He f ...

Sönke Rix Sönke Rix (born 3 December 1975) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of Schleswig-Holstein since 2005. Political career Rix first became a member of the ...

and

Wiebke Esdar Wiebke Esdar (born 11 February 1984) is a German psychologist and politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). She has been a member of the Bundestag since the 2017 election, when she won the constituency of Bielefeld – Gütersloh II with ...

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 at ...

is the platform treasurer. Other prominent members include SPD group chairman Rolf Mützenich and party co-leader Saskia Esken.

Profile

The Parliamentary Left describes itself as "an association of social democratic members of the Bundestag". It represents the

left wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

of the Social Democratic Party, "advoca ingfor 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 approaches to economic and social policy. They were critical of the largely supply-side '' Agenda 2010'' reforms of Gerhard Schröder'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 An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an es ...

and the reintroduction of the wealth tax. They reject proposals for a strict limitation of the

national debt A country's gross government debt (also called public debt, or sovereign debt) is the financial liabilities of the government sector. Changes in government debt over time reflect primarily borrowing due to past government deficits. A deficit oc ...

, 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 Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most 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 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 Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

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 Carsten Günter Erich Sieling (born 13 January 1959) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who served as the President of the Senate and Mayor of Bremen from 2015 to 2019. His successor is Andreas Bovenschulte. Political car ...

, 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 and pushed for reform within the SPD parliamentary group. The modern platform was officially founded in 1972, then known as the ''Leverkusener Kreis'' ( Leverkusener 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''
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References

{{Reflist 1972 establishments in Germany Social democracy Social Democratic Party of Germany Political party factions in Germany