Die Linke / The Left (Germany)

Die Linke was formed in 2007, bringing together members from the Party of Democratic Socialism in the East, activists from the trade union movement in the West, and a radical, anti-capitalist left current.

At the time of formation, total membership stood at about 70,000. This remained fairly static for the next four years, with only 3% of members being under the age of 30. This was followed by a general period of decline lasting until about 2016, after which “the Trump effect” brought in new members. After this, party membership declined again until 2024. However, since then membership has been growing very rapidly.

Growth accelerated all throughout the 2025 election campaign, with membership numbers going from about 60,000 in January 2025 to 112,000 in May. Heidi Reichinnek, the party’s leader in the Bundestag, became a social media star, playing an important role in the youth-centered membership growth. Since then, membership has increased still further to 120,000 (September 2025). It is too early to say what is behind the party's current success, or whether these new members will stay.

The party strives for “social control over all forms of economic power, with financial power subordinated to democratic interests”. This involves seeking “social, democratic and peace-making reforms to overcome capitalism”.

Extracts from the Preamble of the Party Programme:
“Our goal is concrete: we fight for a society in which no child grows up poor, in which everyone can live a self-determined life in peace, dignity and welfare. We fight for a society where social relations are shaped democratically. To achieve this, we need a different economic and social system: democratic socialism.”
https://en.die-linke.de/welcome

“Die Linke fights for a different, democratic economic order that subjects the market regulation of production and distribution to democratic, social and ecological framing and control. It has to be based on public and democratically controlled ownership in services of general interest, of the social infrastructure, in the power industry and in the financial sector.”
https://en.die-linke.de/party/documents/party-programme

Some of the current factions/caucuses within the party are listed below. These are formally outlined in the party statutes. More can be viewed here:
https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse

• The Communist Platform
A Marxist-Leninist group seeking to establish “a new socialist society that utilizes the positive experiences of real socialism and draws lessons from the mistakes made”.

• The Anti-Capitalist Left
This group argues that any participation in government should be dependent on minimum conditions, such as no privatization, no military operations and no social cuts.

• Socialist Left
This group, with a strong trade union base, represents left-Keynesian and reform communist positions.

• Movement Left
This group combines traditional struggle around workers' interests with a strong focus on identity politics.

• Emancipatory Left
This group represents social-liberal, radical-democratic and emancipatory positions.

• Forum for Democratic Socialism
This group wants to see the party continue to participate in government and influence society through reforms.

• Reform Left Network
This group advocates reform-oriented approaches and strives for government coalitions to implement them.

• Ecological Platform
This group networks with other environmental groups and is expressly open to non-party members.

• Marxist Forum
This group harkens back to the "actual existing socialism" of the German Democratic Republic and strives for a deeper Marxist analysis within the party.

Die Linke is formally led by a 26-member Party Executive Committee (PEC), elected at the party congress. Seven members of this group form the party's leadership team, known as the Executive Board, which includes two co-chairpersons, at least one of whom must be female. 'Left Youth Solid' is Die Linke's youth wing and 'The Left.SDS' is the student wing. There is also a leadership group for the party's Bundestag (ie parliamentary) faction and a Council of Elders ('Ältestenrat'), which acts as an advisory body. The Party has branches in all 16 of Germany's states, with smaller branches at regional and local level. Beyond the factions/caucuses listed in Section 3 above, Die Linke also many 'nationwide associations' and working groups, which focus on particular issues or serve as consultative bodies.

Die Linke is a member of the Party of the European Left (https://www.european-left.org/) and has close links with the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (https://www.rosalux.de/en/).

Die Linke fields candidates at both national and local levels. Non-members can also be nominated as candidates on the party's lists, if they are willing to commit to 'programmatic key points' in advance. As of 2025, Die Linke is the 5th largest party in the Bundestag, having achieved about 9% of the vote, for a total of 64 seats. The party also has 3 MEPs in the European Parliament, organized in the fraction known as 'The Left'. One of the co-chairs of the EP-group is also from Die Linke.

1. Party programme (in English)
2. Federal statutes (in English)
3. Membership application form (in English)

1. https://en.die-linke.de/welcome
2. https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse
3. https://jacobin.com/2025/03/die-linke-resurgence-germany-left
4. https://znetwork.org/znetarticle/germanys-die-linke-we-rose-like-the-phoenix-from-the-ashes/