Die Linke.
|
The Left
Die Linke |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Chairperson |
Katja Kipping Bernd Riexinger |
| Founded | 16 June 2007 |
| Merger of |
PDS WASG Linksruck |
| Headquarters |
Karl-Liebknecht-Haus Kl. Alexanderstraße 28 D-10178 Berlin |
| Newspaper | Neues Deutschland |
| Think tank | Rosa Luxemburg Foundation |
| Student wing | Die Linke.SDS |
| Youth wing | Left Youth Solid |
| Membership (December 2015) |
 58,989 |
| Ideology |
Democratic socialism Left-wing populism Anti-capitalism Antimilitarism |
| Political position | Left-wing |
| European affiliation | Party of the European Left |
| European Parliament group | European United Left–Nordic Green Left |
| Colors |
Purple (customary for election coverage) Red (official) |
| Bundestag |
64 / 630
|
| State Parliaments |
159 / 1,855
|
| European Parliament |
7 / 96
|
| Prime Ministers of States |
1 / 16
|
| Website | |
| www |
|
The Left (German: Die Linke), also commonly referred to as the Left Party (German: Linkspartei), is a democratic socialist and left-wing populistpolitical party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Electoral Alternative for Labour and Social Justice (WASG).
Since mid-2012, its co-chairs have been Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger. In the Bundestag the party has 64 out of 630 seats after polling 8.6% of the vote in the 2013 federal elections and, after the Social Democrats and Conservatives formed a coalition government, became leader of the opposition. Its parliamentary group is the third largest among the four groups in the German Bundestag, ahead of the Greens. The Left is a founding member of the Party of the European Left, and is the largest party in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament.
The party is the most left-wing party of the four represented in the Bundestag, and has been called far-left by the Guardian, but according to the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the party is not to be regarded as extremely left or a threat to democracy. However, some of its internal factions, such as Socialist Left, are under observation by some states' and federal Verfassungsschutz authorities for the protection of the constitution on account of suspected extremist tendencies. In Bavaria, the entire party is under surveillance.
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