WikipediaExtracts:The Left (Germany)

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Die Linke ([diː ˈlɪŋkə]; lit. 'The Left'), also known as the Left Party (German: die Linkspartei [diː ˈlɪŋkspaʁˌtaɪ] ), is a democratic socialist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative. Through the PDS, the party is the direct descendant of the Marxist–Leninist ruling party of former East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). Since October 2024, The Left's co-chairpersons have been Ines Schwerdtner and Jan van Aken. The party holds 64 seats out of 630 in the German federal parliament (the Bundestag), having won 8.8% of votes cast in the 2025 German federal election. Its parliamentary group is the second-smallest of seven in the Bundestag, and is headed by parliamentary co-leaders Heidi Reichinnek and Sören Pellmann.

The Left is represented in seven of Germany's sixteen state legislatures, including four of the five eastern states. As of 2025, the party participates in governments in the states of Bremen and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as a junior partner. From 2014 to 2024 the party led a coalition in Thuringia with the Social Democratic Party and The Greens headed by Minister-President Bodo Ramelow. The Left is a founding member of the Party of the European Left, and is the third-largest party in the European United Left–Nordic Green Left group in the European Parliament. In February 2025, The Left had 102,412 registered members. The Left promotes left-wing populism, anti-fascism and anti-militarism, and is neutral on European integration.