BR

I think that this view derives from a narrow understanding of politics. Discussions about the party manifesto and setting out the party’s differences from the SPD and the Green Party are certainly useful during election campaigns. However, I believe that we need a social project, and that we must take the trouble of developing a project that is also aimed at the future. This can occur only as part of a collective process; it is not enough for a few people to sit down and say: right, now is the time to do it. In fact, doing so is only possible within the context of social struggles and social movements. Theory is not something that is detached from society; it develops out of a social context.

Unfortunately, there is far too little discussion within DIE LINKE about changing social reality — and that is due in part to this narrow understanding of politics. It should not just be about including points in a party manifesto and developing policies. The really important process occurs when these policies help provide momentum to social and political struggles. That is why we also need to rethink the term ‘political party’ in terms that go beyond parliamentarianism.

If we are serious about DIE LINKE having both a parliamentary and an extra-parliamentary function, then we have to develop policies that can be supported by trade unionists, the SPD, and perhaps even the Green Party. The revolutionary aspect of this would be that people would have to get out onto the streets and support these policies. The trade unions are already partly doing this, but this is not really the case with political parties. When we talk about extra-parliamentary movements, Blockupy always comes up, and I actually consider it to be a successful example of left-wing politics.

But it only involves perhaps 25,000 people. This is far from hegemonic. To build for counter-hegemonic policies we would have to build broad alliances around common demands. Those demands could very well be suggested by the Left. And if the common demands call for less than we would suggest there is no harm in advertising for goals that go further. But most important is that people are ready to get together and to get out and active for their shared demands.

It is quite right to think about putting pressure on the SPD outside of the parliamentary level. I suggested doing this during my time at ver.di. A few left-wing ver.di districts could have had a lot of influence if they had coordinated their action. I spoke to ver.di Stuttgart about this recently. I called on them to get something started while we were still waiting for the government to form. We could have called for a minimum wage and other social demands that were basically shared by the SPD, Left, and Greens! We have got a majority in favor of a minimum wage and a number of other policies. It is time they did something! If these ideas had come from the union camp, then the debate about a possible coalition between the DIE LINKE, the SPD, and the Green Party would have taken on a very different character than it has now. The debate would no longer merely be about a coalition government, and it would also be taking place outside of the media.