Left bounces back in business

A spectre is haunting the capitalist Germany now. The spectre of eastern communism. It’s been almost three decades now since the Berlin Wall was brought down & West Germany triumphed over the East. Throughout this long period, the mainstream German political parties, be it the Christian Democrats (CDU), the Liberal Free Democrats (FDP), the Social Democrats (SPD) or the Greens, collectively treated the children of East German communism as pariahs. Did they succeed in their effort? Yes, but only until some members of the erstwhile East German Communist Party reinvented themselves in a changed political landscape through the formation of a new political outfit.

The Left Party, daring the de facto political untouchability, set out a fresh campaign, which eventually started producing results. When the results of the Feb. 24 Hamburg state election were out, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU lost absolute majority in the state, which simply endorsed the shift of political Centre to the Left. The CDU won 42.7% of popular votes down from the 47% it bagged in 2004. CDU’s main rival SDP scored 34%, 4% higher than the 2004 figure. The most interesting performance is that of the Left Party which is set to enter the Hamburg Parliament for the first time with 6.5% of the votes. Hamburg result was just the continuation of what happened in the state of Hesse in January. The Christian democrats lost absolute majority in Hesse as the Left Party, along with the Social Democrats, emerged as a crucial player. When the Left Party bagged some seats in the 2005 general elections, both the conservatives & the Social Democrats joined hands together to deny any national relevance to the communists.

That cooperation led to the formation of Volksparteien – the CDU and SPD alliance – which has now become a liability for both the parties. The SPD, which earlier ruled out any kind of alliance with the Left, has now changed its tone, expressing willingness to have an informal power sharing agreement at state levels. In Hesse, they started efforts to win the outside support of the Left. SPD chairman Kurt Beck has backed the move. On the other side, Hamburg’s conservative mayor Ole von Beust is now hoping to retain power by winning the support of the Greens. The Left knows that the current political impasse in the country could not be solved without taking them into the mainstream political process. Today or tomorrow, it has to happen. After all, it is election season in Germany. And the spectres seem to be on their way back.

(John Stanly, Published in Business & Economy, 20/03/2008)