Bodo Ramelow threatens to leave the party: Among other things, “a lively discussion on East Germany is missing”

This move would be a political bombshell. Ramelow is considered one of the leading figures in the party wing of the Left Party that calls for more pragmatism , more citizen-centricity, and more realism. He is considered a critic of the isolationist young comrades who are loud, woke, and ideological—often radical to the point of extremism.

In his text, Ramelow also clearly sees an East-West conflict within his party. He writes: "Yes, we have grown dramatically. Yes, we have become a more West German-oriented party. Yes, I miss a lively discussion about East Germany and what experience we can contribute from the new federal states."

Ramelow recently attracted attention with the "Silverlock" campaign, in which he, along with Gregor Gysi and Dietmar Bartsch , the party's old white men, sought to win three direct mandates for The Left in the federal election, allowing the party to re-enter parliament if it failed to clear the five percent hurdle. He and Gysi won the mandate, but Bartsch did not. The Left still managed a surprisingly strong entry into the Bundestag, garnering almost nine percent of the vote.

But Ramelow sees more than just strength in this success: In his text, he shows how strongly he was able to score points with the electorate, for example, but he also shows how much the Left has lost due to the split from the BSW around Sahra Wagenknecht .

He writes that the Left Party won 13.1 percent of the vote in Thuringia, as well as four direct mandates. But he also writes that, as the previous governing party, it clearly lost many votes. "Viewed objectively, the breakaway BSW list, led by Katja Wolf, gained almost as many votes as we lost."

The description of his own success sounds like a warning to his party—at least if the idea of ​​leaving the party is included. Ramelow writes: "In the direct election in my constituency, as a former state premier, I was able to gain 42.2 percent of the vote, both in absolute terms and percentage terms, and even better my personal best result from the previous election. What a contradiction, when at the same time the party suffered massive losses due to division, but its top candidate actually gained ground in the direct election results!"

So, is Ramelow on his way out? He doesn't answer the question directly in his long text, but he does write right up to the end about a common "we" that must fight for a better party. He describes his core demand as follows: "The Left in Motion must not become a movement Left that isolates itself! Or to put it another way: Party work must, of course, be fun. You have to enjoy working for and in this party every day. But we don't want to become a fun party. We also don't want to be an elite party. We also do n't want to become a party of 'better people,' but rather a party that works to improve living conditions for everyone! Not just a party that moves, but a party that makes a difference—namely, something for the good of every person. My motto applies here: So stay in the country and defend yourself every day!"