Pellmann and Reichinnek lead the Left in the Bundestag

Member of parliament Clara Bünger and Left Party national managing director Ates Gürpinar had also applied to succeed him. Gürpinar withdrew during the proceedings on Monday. Bünger was defeated in two rounds of voting by both Reichinnek and Pellmann by 13 to 14. The group has 28 members, but MP Petra Pau was unable to take part in the vote due to an injury. MP Christian Görke was elected as the first Parliamentary Secretary.

Small group, but still divided

Although the Left Group is small, it is divided over its future direction. There is also a traditional rift between the Left in the Bundestag and the party leadership. All of this was also evident in the vote.

Reichinnek and Pellmann were defeated by Wissler and Schirdewan in the race for the party chairmanship in 2022. Now they have joined forces as a duo and formulated their top issues in a thesis paper: Redistribution, "good work", peace. Bünger and Gürpinar are closer to the party leadership, but did not make the cut.

Apart from the internal wrangling, the new group chairmen are hardly known nationwide. Reichinnek (35) comes from Saxony-Anhalt and entered the Bundestag in 2021 via the Lower Saxony state list. She studied Middle Eastern Studies and said she was in Cairo during the Arab Spring in 2010 and 2011. She taught German at a facility for unaccompanied refugee minors. In the Bundestag, she was responsible for children, youth, family and women's policy.