Left Party Chairwoman: Time for new heads

The leaders of the Saxon Left Party believe the time has come for new ideas and fresh minds in their party. "We were the leaders of the crisis," said Susanne Schaper at a press conference in Dresden, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, the start of the war in Ukraine and the split of the BSW from the Left Party.

"It has been six years of hard work," said Co-Chair Stephan Hartmann. The fact that we can talk about good election and poll results today was not a given. Now is a good time to hand over the chairmanship with peace of mind, said Schaper.

Hartmann and Schaper want to focus on the parliamentary group

The Left Party will elect a new board at its party conference in Leipzig next weekend. Hartmann and Schaper do not want to run again. In future, they want to concentrate on their tasks as chairpersons of the state parliamentary group.

The number of members of the state association has doubled to 11,000 under the duo. The Left Party thus overtook the CDU with around 9,500 members before the federal elections in February and is currently the party with the most members in Saxony. "That makes us happy," said Schaper. However, she also pointed out the challenges that growth brings for the party, especially on a structural level - such as the search for spaces for exchange.

Four candidates for succession

There are currently four candidates for the position of party leader: current Deputy Chairwoman Anja Eichhorn and former Member of Parliament Marco Böhme are standing for election as a team, while Bautzen District Chairman Silvio Lang and former Member of Parliament Marika Tändler-Walenta are also running as individual candidates for the dual leadership.

Strategy until 2029: three goals

The momentum of recent months is noticeable at all levels, said Hartmann. The party conference will therefore present a key motion focusing on the years leading up to the 2029 state elections, which includes three goals: remaining the party with the largest membership in Saxony, becoming more firmly anchored at municipal level and achieving a double-digit result in the state elections.