View source for Die Linke

{{short description|German political party}}
{{pp-pc1}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}{{Update|2025 elections|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = Die Linke
| native_name_lang = de
| logo             = Logo Die Linke (2023).svg
| logo_size        = 200
| colorcode        = {{Political party data|color}}
| leader1_title    = Chairpersons
| leader1_name     = {{plainlist|
* [[Ines Schwerdtner]]
* [[Jan van Aken (politician)|Jan van Aken]]
}}
| leader2_title    = Deputy Chairpersons
| leader2_name     = {{plainlist|class=nowrap|
* [[Ates Gürpinar]]
* {{ill|Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg|de}}
* {{ill|Sabine Ritter|de}}
* {{ill|Maximilian Schirmer|de}}
}}
| leader3_title    = Leaders in the Bundestag
| leader3_name     = {{plainlist|
* [[Heidi Reichinnek]]
* [[Sören Pellmann]]
}}
| leader4_title    = Secretary
| leader4_name     = Janis Ehling
| founder          = 
| founded          = {{start date|2007|6|16|df=y}}
| merger           = [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]]<br />[[Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative|WASG]]
| headquarters     = [[Karl-Liebknecht-Haus]]<br/>Kleine Alexanderstraße 28<br/>D-10178 [[Berlin]]
| think_tank       = [[Rosa Luxemburg Foundation]]
| student_wing     = [[Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund|Die Linke.SDS]]
| youth_wing       = [[Left Youth Solid]]
| membership_year  = June 2025
| membership       = {{increase}} 115,623<ref name="Welt-22-06-25"/>
| ideology         = [[Democratic socialism]]<ref>{{cite web |date=2025-02-24 |title=Left Party political party, Germany |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Left-Party-political-party-Germany |website=britannica.com |publisher=Britannica Encyclopedia |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=It advocates a broadly democratic socialist platform that puts it to the left of the mainstream Social Democratic Party (SPD).}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2025-02-25 |title=Far-right AfD and socialist left win over young Germans, election reveals |url= https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/25/how-afd-the-left-won-the-german-youth-vote |website=aljazeera.com |publisher=Al Jazeera |access-date=2025-02-26 |quote=Die Linke, a socialist party, advocates for an "immigration society" where everyone has the same rights and opportunities and no deportations.}}</ref><br />[[Left-wing populism]]<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=Keating |editor-first1=Michael |editor-last2=McCrone |editor-first2=David |publication-date=2013 |title=The Crisis of Social Democracy in Europe |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJskDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140 |publisher= |page=147 |isbn=978-0-7486-6582-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rooduijn |first1=Matthijs |last2=Pirro |first2=Andrea L. P. |last3=Halikiopoulou |first3=Daphne |last4=Froio |first4=Caterina |last5=Kessel |first5=Stijn Van |last6=Lange |first6=Sarah L. De |last7=Mudde |first7=Cas |last8=Taggart |first8=Paul |date=20 September 2023|title=The PopuList: A Database of Populist, Far-Left, and Far-Right Parties Using Expert-Informed Qualitative Comparative Classification (EiQCC) |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-political-science/article/populist-a-database-of-populist-farleft-and-farright-parties-using-expertinformed-qualitative-comparative-classification-eiqcc/EBF60489A0E1E3D91A6FE066C7ABA2CA |journal=British Journal of Political Science |volume=54 |issue=3 |pages=969–978 |doi=10.1017/S0007123423000431 |issn=0007-1234|hdl=11585/942316 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
| position         = [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]{{cref|A}}<ref>{{cite book|editor=Raphaël Fèvre|title=A Political Economy of Power: Ordoliberalism in Context, 1932-1950 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hfhQEAAAQBAJ|quote=This reference to ordoliberalism has also resonated across the wide spectrum of German politics—albeit in a spirit of opposition to the CDU—from left-wing party leaders of Die Linke to the far-right of Alternative für Deutschland|year=2021|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=hfhQEAAAQBAJ&dq=left-wing+die+linke+far-right&pg=PA2 2]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-197-60780-0}}</ref>
| national         = 
| european         = {{Nowrap|[[Party of the European Left]]}}
| international    = 
| europarl         = [[The Left in the European Parliament]]
| colours          = {{colour box|#FF0000|border=silver}} [[Political colour#Red|Red]] (official){{efn|Used in the party logo and flag.}}<br />{{colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}} Purple (customary){{efn|Used by the German government in their parliamentary diagrams.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2013-09-22-BT-DE/index.shtml|title=Bundestagswahl 2013|language=de|website=Bundestagswahl 2021|date=9 October 2013|access-date=23 October 2021|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408224928/http://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2013-09-22-BT-DE/index.shtml|archive-date=8 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/bundestagswahlen/2021/ergebnisse.html|title=Bundestagswahl 2021|language=de|website=Bundeswahlleiter|publisher=Federal Returning Officer|date=15 October 2021|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>}}
<!-- Values obtained from Wikidata; to edit, see https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q49764 -->
| seats1_title     = [[Bundestag]]
| seats1           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-lower-house}}
| seats2_title     = [[German Bundesrat|Bundesrat]]
| seats2           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|ms-upper-house}}
| seats3_title     = [[composition of the German state parliaments|State Parliaments]]
| seats3           = {{composition bar|92|1894|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| seats4_title     = [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|European Parliament]]
| seats4           = {{Political party data|seat composition bar|EP}}
| seats5_title     = [[Minister president (Germany)|Heads of State Governments]]
| seats5           = {{composition bar|0|16|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| flag             = Flag of Die Linke.svg
| footnotes        = {{cnote|A|A broad left-wing party, it has also been described as [[Far-left politics|far-left]] by some news outlets.}}<ref>

'''BBC News''':
* {{cite news |date=5 December 2014 |title=Die Linke triumph: Mixed reaction as German far-left gains power |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30342441 |website=bbc.com |location=UK |publisher=BBC News}}

'''Euronews''':
* {{cite news |date=20 November 2014 |title=Far-left Die Linke take charge of German region |url=http://www.euronews.com/2014/11/20/far-left-die-linke-take-charge-of-german-region/ |website=euronews.com |publisher=Euronews}}

'''''The Guardian''''':
* {{cite news |date=17 September 2009 |title=Die Linke party wins German votes by standing out from crowd |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/17/german-elections-die-linke-party |website=[[The Guardian]] |location=UK }}

'''''Der Spiegel''''':
* {{cite news |last=Hawley |first=Charles |date=19 September 2013 |title=German Left Party Strong But Shunned by Mainstream |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-left-party-strong-but-shunned-by-mainstream-a-922870.html |website=Spiegel.de |location=DE |publisher=Der Spiegel}}

'''''Politico Europe''''':
* {{cite web |last=Lunday |first=Chris |date=11 February 2025 |title=Germany's far-left party sees membership surge before election |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-far-left-party-record-membership-surge-election-die-linke/ |website=Politico.eu |publisher= Politico Europe |access-date=17 February 2025}}

</ref>
| website          = {{Political party data|website}}
| country          = Germany
}}

'''Die Linke''' ({{IPA|de|diː ˈlɪŋkə||audio=}}; {{literally|'''The Left'''}}), also known as the '''Left Party''' ({{langx|de|die Linkspartei|links=no}} {{IPA|de|diː ˈlɪŋkspaʁˌtaɪ||De-Die Linkspartei.ogg}}), is a [[Democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] [[List of political parties in Germany|political party in Germany]]. The party was founded in 2007 as the result of the merger of the [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|Party of Democratic Socialism]] (PDS) and [[Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative]]. Through the PDS, the party is the direct descendant of the [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] ruling party of former [[East Germany]], the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] (SED).<ref name="Tangian2013">{{cite book|last=Tangian|first=Andranik|title=Mathematical Theory of Democracy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=soLEBAAAQBAJ|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|year=2013|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=soLEBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA321 321]|isbn=978-3-642-38724-1}}</ref> Since October 2024, The Left's co-[[Chair (officer)|chairpersons]] have been [[Ines Schwerdtner]] and [[Jan van Aken (politician)|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 [[New states of Germany|eastern states]]. As of 2025, the party participates in governments in the states of [[Bremen (state)|Bremen]] and [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] as a junior partner. From 2014 to 2024 the party led a coalition in [[Thuringia]] with the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]] and [[Alliance 90/The Greens|The Greens]] headed by Minister-President [[Bodo Ramelow]]. The Left is a founding member of the [[Party of the European Left]], and is the fifth-largest party in [[The Left in the European Parliament|The 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 [[antimilitarism]], and is neutral on [[European integration]].

== History ==
=== Background ===
{{main|Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)}}

The main predecessor of The Left was the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), which emerged from the ruling Socialist Unity Party (SED) of East Germany (GDR). In October 1989, facing increasing unpopularity, the SED replaced long-time leader [[Erich Honecker]] with [[Egon Krenz]], who began a program of limited reforms, including the legalisation of opposition groups. He also loosened restrictions on travel between East and West Berlin, which inadvertently led to the [[fall of the Berlin Wall]]. The SED gave up its "[[vanguardism|leading role]]" in November, and Krenz resigned soon afterward. He was succeeded by [[Gregor Gysi]], part of a group of reformers who supported the [[Peaceful Revolution]]. His ally [[Hans Modrow]], the new Chairman of the Council of Ministers, became the ''de facto'' national leader.

Seeking to change its image, the party expelled most of its former leadership, including Honecker and Krenz; the new government negotiated with opposition groups and arranged free elections. By the time of a special congress in mid-December, the SED was no longer a Marxist-Leninist party. It added ''Party of Democratic Socialism'' to its name, dropping the SED portion in February. The PDS oriented itself as pro-democratic, socialist, and supportive of East German sovereignty. The party chose Modrow as its lead candidate for the [[1990 East German general election]] but was decisively defeated, finishing in third place with 16.4% of votes cast. The PDS was excluded from further political developments due to the aversion of the opposition, now in power, which considered it essentially tied to the Communist regime despite its change of name.<ref>Mary Elise Sarotte, ''1989: The Struggle to Create Post-Cold War Europe'' (second edition). Princeton, NJ: [[Princeton University Press]], 2014</ref>

After debuting with a meagre 2.4% nationwide in the [[1990 German federal election]] immediately after reunification, the PDS gained popularity throughout the 1990s as a protest party in the eastern states. In the [[1998 German federal election]] it won 5.1% of votes, enough to win seats outright without relying on direct constituencies as it had in 1994. By the 2000s, it was the second-largest party in every eastern state legislature except Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Despite electoral successes, the PDS faced internal strife due to ideological disputes, a chronic decline in membership, and a near-complete lack of support in the western states, which has been home to 85% of Germany's population. The [[1994 German federal election]] also saw a "red socks" campaign used by the [[Centre-right politics|centre-right]], including the [[CDU/CSU]] and the [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]] (FDP), to scare off a possible [[red–red–green coalition]] ([[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]–PDS–[[Alliance 90/The Greens|Greens]]). Analysts have stated that such a strategy likely paid off, as it was seen as one of the decisive elements for the narrow victory of Kohl for the CDU/CSU–FDP. The campaign was criticized as an obvious attempt to discredit the whole [[Left-wing politics|political left]]; the PDS reinterpreted it for itself by printing red socks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-could-there-soon-be-a-left-wing-government/a-59073355|title=German election: Could there soon be a left-wing government?|agency=Deutsche Welle|date=24 September 2021|access-date=1 October 2021}}</ref>

=== PDS–WASG alliance ===
{{Image frame|align=right|border=no|width=400|content=
{{Tree chart/start|align=center}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |SPD ||SPD=[[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]}}
{{Tree chart| |,|- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-|-|(|SL=[[Spartacus League]]}}
{{Tree chart|SL| | | | | | | | |!|SL=[[Spartacus League]]}}
{{Tree chart| |!| | | | | | | | | |!|SPD=[[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]]}}
{{Tree chart| KPD |v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|(| |KPD=[[Communist Party of Germany|KPD]]}}
{{Tree chart| | | |!| | | | | | | |!| |}}
{{Tree chart| | | SED | | | | | | |!| |SED=[[Socialist Unity Party of Germany|SED]]}}
{{Tree chart| | | |!| | | | | |,|-|(| |}}
{{Tree chart| | | PDS |-|v|-| WAS |!|PDS=[[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]]|WAS=[[Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative|WASG]]}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | |!| | | | |!| |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | LIN | | | |!| |LIN='''Die Linke'''}}
{{Tree chart| | | | | | |!| | | | |!| |}}
{{Tree chart| | | | BSW |(| | | | |!| |BSW=[[Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance|BSW]]}}
{{Tree chart| | | | |!| |!| | | | |!| |}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
|caption=The predecessors of Die Linke, and its split-off, the [[Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parteien nach 1989 |url=https://www.teachsam.de/politik/brd_pols/parteien/brd_parteien_5_2_6_1.htm |access-date=9 January 2024 |website=www.teachsam.de}}</ref>}}
In January 2005, a group of disaffected [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]] and trade unionists founded [[Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative]] (WASG), a left-wing party opposed to federal Chancellor [[Gerhard Schröder]]'s [[Agenda 2010]] labour and welfare reforms. The party made a modest showing of 2.2% in the [[2005 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia state election]] in May, but failed to win seats. The election saw the incumbent SPD government defeated in a landslide, which was widely interpreted as a sign of the federal SPD's unpopularity. Chancellor Schröder subsequently called an early federal election to be held in September.

WASG continued to gain members, prompting the PDS leadership to propose an alliance between the two parties. With the established eastern base of the PDS and WASG's potential for growth in the west, the parties hoped to enter the Bundestag together. They agreed to form an electoral pact, in which they would not run against one another in direct constituencies and would create joint [[electoral list]]s featuring candidates from both parties. They also agreed to unify into a single party in 2007. To symbolise the new relationship, the PDS renamed itself the Left Party.PDS ({{langx|de|Linkspartei.PDS}}). The joint list ran under the name The Left.PDS ({{langx|de|Die Linke.PDS}}), though in the western states, where the PDS was shunned for its association with the GDR, "PDS" was optional. The alliance's profile was greatly boosted when former federal Minister of Finance [[Oskar Lafontaine]], who had left the SPD after the North Rhine-Westphalia election, joined WASG in June. He was chosen as the party's lead candidate for the federal election and shared the spotlight with Gregor Gysi of the PDS.

Polls early in the summer showed the unified Left list winning as much as 12 percent of the vote, and for a time it seemed possible the party would surge past the Greens and FDP and become the third-largest party in the Bundestag. During the campaign, the party was subject to frequent criticism. At one event, Oskar Lafontaine described ''Fremdarbeiter'' ("foreign workers", a term associated with the Nazi regime) as a threat to German labour. He claimed to have misspoken, but in an article published in ''[[Die Welt]]'', a group of prominent German writers accused him of deliberately appealing to [[Xenophobia|xenophobic]] and [[Far-right politics|far-right]] voters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.signandsight.com/features/241.html|title=Writers warn about Linkspartei|publisher=signandsight |date=1 July 2005 |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref>

In the [[2005 German federal election|2005 federal election]], the Left.PDS easily passed the electoral threshold, winning 8.7% of the vote and 53 seats. It became the fourth largest party in the Bundestag. The result of the election was inconclusive; between the SPD, Greens, and Left.PDS, left-wing parties held a majority, but the SPD was unwilling to cooperate with the Left.PDS. The result was a [[Grand coalition (Germany)|grand coalition]] of the CDU and SPD.

=== Party foundation ===
Negotiations for a formal merger of the PDS and WASG continued through the next year until a final agreement was reached on 27 March 2007.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XGChCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |title=Party Members and Activists |page=85 |publisher=Routledge |editor1-first=Emilie |editor1-last=van Haute |editor2-first=Anika |editor2-last=Gauja |date=24 April 2015 |isbn=978-1-317-52432-8 |access-date=22 August 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref> The new party, called The Left (''Die Linke''), held its founding congress in Berlin on 16 June 2007. [[Lothar Bisky]] and Oskar Lafontaine were elected as co-leaders, while Gregor Gysi became leader of the party's Bundestag group.

The unified party quickly became a serious force in western Germany for the first time. It comfortably surpassed the electoral threshold in [[2007 Bremen state election|Bremen in 2007]], and throughout 2008 won seats in [[2008 Lower Saxony state election|Lower Saxony]], [[2008 Hessian state election|Hesse]] and [[2008 Hamburg state election|Hamburg]]. The "five-party system" in Germany was now a reality in the west as well as the east.

A string of electoral successes followed during the "super election year" of 2009. The Left achieved 7.5% in the [[2009 European Parliament election in Germany|European elections]], confirming their enduring nationwide popularity. Six state elections were held throughout the year, and in each of them the party either surged ahead or consolidated earlier gains. They saw an upswing in [[2009 Thuringian state election|Thuringia]] and [[2009 Hessian state election|Hesse]] and won seats for the first time in [[2009 Schleswig-Holstein state election|Schleswig-Holstein]] and [[2009 Saarland state election|Saarland]]. Oskar Lafontaine ran as the party's lead candidate in Saarland, leading the party to a massive success with 21.3% of the vote. In [[2009 Saxony state election|Saxony]] and [[2009 Brandenburg state election|Brandenburg]], The Left's vote declined slightly, but it remained the second largest party in both states.

=== 2009 federal election ===
[[File:Bundestag 2009 Linke.svg|thumb|Results for the second votes by constituency in the [[2009 German federal election|2009 federal election]]]]
The electoral collapse of the Social Democratic Party in the [[2009 German federal election|federal election]] on 27 September 2009 saw The Left's vote surge to 11.9%, increasing its representation in the Bundestag from 54 to 76 seats, just under half as large as the SPD's parliamentary group. It became the second most popular party in the eastern states with 28.5%, while experiencing a breakthrough in the west with 8.3%. It was the most popular party in Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg, and won sixteen direct constituencies, the largest tally by a minor party in history. The Left nonetheless remained in opposition.

The Left won seats in the parliament of Germany's most populous state, [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], in the [[2010 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|May 2010 election]]. They now held seats in thirteen of Germany's sixteen states, only absent from three states in the traditionally conservative south.

In January 2010, Oskar Lafontaine announced that, due to his ongoing cancer treatment, he would not seek re-election to the party leadership at the upcoming party congress. At the congress in May, Lothar Bisky also chose not to nominate for re-election; [[Klaus Ernst]] and [[Gesine Lötzsch]] were elected as the party's new leaders.

Just a few weeks later, the SPD and Greens invited the Left to support their candidate for the [[2010 German presidential election|2010 presidential election]], former [[Stasi Records Agency|Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records]] [[Joachim Gauck]]. They suggested that this was an opportunity for the Left to leave their communist past behind them and show unconditional support for democracy.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ludwig Greven |date=29 June 2010 |language=de |url=http://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2010-06/gauck-linkspartei |title=Präsidentenwahl: Linke, wählt Gauck! |trans-title=presidential election: Left, choose Gauck! |publisher=Zeit Online |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> However, the party refused to support him, highlighting his support of the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]] and his attacks on their party.<ref>[http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Linke-ist-gegen-Gauck-article942387.html "Nicht wählbar": Linke ist gegen Gauck], n-tv, 28 June 2010</ref> They also rejected the conservative [[Christian Wulff]], favourite of Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]],<ref>[http://www.manager-magazin.de/politik/artikel/0,2828,703784,00.html Linke verhindert Gauck, Wulff wird Präsident], Manager Magazin</ref> instead putting forward their own nominee, television journalist [[Luc Jochimsen]].<ref>{{cite news|author=von Markus Ehrenberg|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/medien/tagesschau-luc-jochimsen-oder-doch-lukrezia/1854908.html |title=Tagesschau: Luc Jochimsen? Oder doch Lukrezia?|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online |date=9 June 2010 |publisher=Tagesspiegel.de |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> The red-green camp reacted with disappointment.<ref name="SPON">[http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,703975,00.html Streit über Präsidentenwahl: Linke verteidigt Anti-Gauck-Kurs], Spiegel Online, 1 July 2010</ref> SPD chairman [[Sigmar Gabriel]] described The Left's position as "bizarre and embarrassing," stating that he was shocked that they would declare Joachim Gauck their enemy due to his investigation of GDR injustice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/bundespraesident-gabriel-lafontaine-kritik-an-gauck-peinlich_aid_520195.html |title=Bundespräsident: Gabriel: Lafontaine-Kritik an Gauck peinlich |publisher=Focus.de|date=17 June 2010|access-date=20 February 2012}}</ref> The SPD and Greens expected the Left to support Gauck in the decisive third round of the election; however, after Jochimsen withdrew, most of the Left's delegates abstained.<ref name="SPON"/><ref name="n24">[http://www.n24.de/news/newsitem_6168071.html Gauck-Boykott vertieft die Gräben], n24.de</ref> Wulff was elected by an absolute majority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/bundespraesidentenwahl-politik-am-rande-des-nervenzusammenbruchs-1578650.html|title=Bundespräsidentenwahl: Politik am Rande des Nervenzusammenbruchs|publisher=Stern.de|date=1 July 2010|access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref>

The party was isolated ahead of the [[2012 German presidential election|March 2012 presidential election]]. The federal CDU/CSU–FDP government invited the SPD and Greens to agree on an all-party consensus candidate; The Left was excluded. Those invited eventually agreed to support Joachim Gauck. The Left again refused to support him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/gauck-als-wulff-nachfolger-linke-schimpft-ueber-kandidat-der-kalten-herzen/6232216.html |title=Bundesversammlung: Gauck soll am 18. März gewählt werden - Linke erwägt eigene Nominierung |publisher=Tagesspiegel.de |date=20 February 2012 |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> SPD chair Sigmar Gabriel once again criticized the party, claiming they harboured "sympathy for the German Democratic Republic."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/bundespraesident/gabriel-greift-linke-an-viele-linke-finden-stasi-aufklaerung-unanstaendig-_aid_718073.html|title=Gabriel greift Linke an: Betonköpfe, die Stasi-Aufklärung unanständig finden|work=Focus|date=26 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.n24.de/news/newsitem_7703457.html|title=Gabriel: Linke lehnt Gauck wegen Sympathie für DDR ab|work=[[Agence France-Presse]]|date=26 February 2012}}</ref> The Left put forward [[Beate Klarsfeld]], a journalist and outspoken [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] who had investigated numerous [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] war criminals. She received 10.2% of the delegate votes. Gauck was elected in the first round with 80.4% of votes.

The Left's fortunes began to turn in 2011, and they suffered a string of setbacks and defeats through 2013, particularly in the western states. They failed to win seats in [[2011 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|Rhineland-Palatinate]] and [[2011 Baden-Württemberg state election|Baden-Württemberg]], and suffered losses in [[2011 Bremen state election|Bremen]], [[2011 Berlin state election|Berlin]], and [[2012 Saarland state election|Saarland]]. Crucially, the party lost its seats in the Landtags of [[2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election|Schleswig-Holstein]], [[2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia]], and [[2013 Lower Saxony state election|Lower Saxony]].

On 11 April 2012, Gesine Lötzsch resigned as party co-leader, citing medical conditions her husband was suffering. Klaus Ernst subsequently announced he would not seek re-election as leader at the party congress in June.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/loetzsch158.html|title=Linkspartei diskutiert über Lötzsch-Nachfolge |publisher=tagesschau.de |date=13 January 2012|access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> [[Katja Kipping]], who had served as deputy leader since 2007, was elected as co-leader with 67.1% of votes. [[Bernd Riexinger]] was elected as the other co-leader with 53.5% of votes, winning a narrow contest against [[Dietmar Bartsch]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/katja-kipping-ist-neue-linken-chefin-a-836667.html|title=Kipping und Riexinger führen tief zerstrittene Linke|date=2 June 2012|website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref>

=== 2013 federal election ===
[[File:Btw13 linke zweit endgueltig.svg|thumb|Results for the second votes by constituency in the [[2013 German federal election|2013 federal election]]]]
In the [[2013 German federal election|2013 federal election]], The Left received 8.6% of the national vote and won 64 seats, a decline from 2009. However, due to the collapse of the FDP, they moved into third place. After the formation of a second grand coalition between the CDU and SPD, The Left became the leading party of the opposition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/bundestagswahlen/BTW_BUND_13/ergebnisse/bundesergebnisse/index.html|title=Final result of the Election to the German Bundestag 2013|work=The [[Federal Returning Officer]]|access-date=23 September 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925024908/http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/bundestagswahlen/BTW_BUND_13/ergebnisse/bundesergebnisse/index.html|archive-date=25 September 2013}}</ref>

The party narrowly retained its seats in the [[2013 Hessian state election|Hessian state election]] held on the same day as the federal election. The Left suffered a major loss in [[2014 Brandenburg state election|Brandenburg]] in 2014, losing a third of its voteshare and falling to third place. Nonetheless, it continued as a junior partner under the SPD.

The [[2014 Thuringian state election]] was the party's biggest success to date, achieving not only its best state election result (28.2%) but also forming the first coalition with one of its own members at the head. The party was able to negotiate a [[red–red–green coalition]] with the SPD and Greens, and [[Bodo Ramelow]] was elected [[List of minister-presidents of Thuringia|Minister-President]] by the [[Landtag of Thuringia]], becoming the first member of the party to serve as head of government of any German state.

The Left achieved modest gains in the city-states of [[2015 Hamburg state election|Hamburg]] and [[2015 Bremen state election|Bremen]] in 2015. They suffered a loss in [[2016 Saxony-Anhalt state election|Saxony-Anhalt]] reminiscent of that in Brandenburg 18 months earlier, falling to third place and losing a third of their voteshare. In September, the Left joined government in [[Berlin]] after the [[2016 Berlin state election|2016 state election]] as the second-largest member of a coalition with the SPD and Greens.

=== 2017 federal election ===
[[File:Karte btw linke17z endg.svg|thumb|Results for the second votes by constituency in the [[2017 German federal election|2017 federal election]]]]
In the [[2017 German federal election|2017 federal election]], The Left fell to fifth place due to the re-entry of the [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|FDP]] in fourth place and the ascension of [[Alternative for Germany|AfD]] to third place. The party suffered substantial losses in its traditional eastern heartland, but made a net gain nationally thanks to an improvement in the western states, rising to 9.2% of votes (up 0.6 points).

Throughout 2017, they failed to make a comeback to the Landtags of [[2017 Schleswig-Holstein state election|Schleswig-Holstein]], [[2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia]], and [[2017 Lower Saxony state election|Lower Saxony]], despite making gains in all three states. The party's slow decline in [[2017 Saarland state election|Saarland]] continued, winning 12.8% in March. In 2018, they defended their seats in [[2018 Hessian state election|Hesse]]. Kipping and Riexinger were re-elected for a third time at the party congress in 2018, winning 64.5% and 73.8% respectively.<ref name="Parteitag2018">{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article177265132/Parteitag-in-Leipzig-Kipping-und-Riexinger-als-Linken-Vorsitzende-wiedergewaehlt.html|title=Kipping und Riexinger als Linken-Vorsitzende wiedergewählt|newspaper=Die Welt|date=9 June 2018}}</ref>

The Left had mixed results in 2019. In the [[2019 European Parliament election in Germany|European election]], they declined to 5.5%, the worst result in a national election since the party's formation. In the [[2019 Bremen state election|Bremen state election]] held on the same day, the party made small gains, and joined a western state government for the first time in a coalition under the SPD and Greens. The Left suffered major losses in the [[2019 Brandenburg state election|Brandenburg]] and [[2019 Saxony state election|Saxony]] state elections held on 1 September, losing almost half its voteshare in each, and left the Brandenburg government, in which they had participated since 2009.

In the [[2019 Thuringian state election]], Ramelow led the party to its best ever result, winning 31.0% and becoming the largest party in a state legislature for the first time, though his red-red-green government lost its majority. In February 2020, the FDP's [[Thomas Kemmerich]] was elected Minister-President with the support of [[Alternative for Germany|AfD]] and the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]], but immediately resigned due to widespread outrage. After a protracted [[2019 Thuringian state election#Government formation|government crisis]], Ramelow was re-elected for a second term to lead a minority government.

In August 2020, Kipping and Riexinger announced they would step down as co-chairs in accordance with party regulations stating that no position should be held by the same person for more than eight years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-both-leaders-of-socialist-left-party-to-quit/a-54752073|title=Germany: Both leaders of socialist Left Party to quit|date=29 August 2020|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> A party congress was scheduled on 30 October to 1 November 2020, but was cancelled on 27 October due to the worsening of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Germany]];<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteistruktur/parteitag/erfurter-parteitag-2020|title=Erfurt Party Congress 2020|publisher=The Left}}</ref> the party instead held a fully digital congress on 26–27 February 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/die-linke-parteitag-findet-komplett-digital-statt-a-9c9d66ae-bae3-4cf0-a71a-cfc793a0df4f|title=The Left Party Congress will take place completely digitally|date=23 January 2021|website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref> Hessian parliamentary leader [[Janine Wissler]] and Thuringia branch leader [[Susanne Hennig-Wellsow]] were elected co-chairs on 27 February, winning 84% and 71% of votes cast, respectively.<ref name="WisHen">{{cite web |title=Janine Wissler and Susanne Hennig-Wellsow are the new chairwomen of the Left |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/die-linke-waehlt-janine-wissler-und-susanne-hennig-wellsow-als-fuehrungsduo-a-7050f423-de0f-4f19-8d7a-9af7a38d7ad8 |date=27 February 2021 |website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref>

=== 2021 federal election ===
During the [[2021 German federal election]], The Left was eager to become a partner in a coalition government with the SPD and Greens.<ref>{{cite web|last=Chadwick|first=Lauren|date=23 September 2021|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/09/23/germany-s-far-left-party-eager-to-join-coalition-while-others-steer-clear|title=German far-left party eager to join coalition while others steer clear|website=Euronews|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref> As the CDU/CSU collapsed in the polls and the SPD surged, the last month of the campaign saw the conservative government engage in a [[Red Scare]] campaign against The Left and the prospect of a [[red–red–green coalition]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Kirschbaum|first=Erick|date=10 September 2021|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/german-elections-coalitions-red-scare-b1917731.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/german-elections-coalitions-red-scare-b1917731.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=German elections: CDU resorts to 'Red Scare' tactics amid slump in the polls|work=The Independent|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref> utilising [[red-baiting]] and fearmongering about extremism;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/merkel-questions-if-spds-scholz-ready-to-rule-out-alliance-with-left-party/a-59045629|title=Merkel questions if SPD's Scholz ready to rule out alliance with Left party|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=31 August 2021|access-date=23 October 2021|via=Deutsche Welle}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-could-there-soon-be-a-left-wing-government/a-59073355|title=German election: Could there soon be a left-wing government?|agency=Deutsche Welle|date=24 September 2021|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref> the party had elected a new moderate leadership and put forward an observably more moderate programme than previous elections.<ref name="Oltermann 2021"/><ref>{{cite web|last1=Hegazy|first1=Sarah|last2=Lehman|first2=Pola|date=7 September 2021|url=https://democracy.blog.wzb.eu/2021/09/06/das-wahlprogramm-der-partei-die-linke-zur-bundestagswahl-2021/|title=Das Wahlprogramm der Partei Die Linke zur Bundestagswahl 2021|trans-title=The election manifesto of the party Die Linke for the 2021 federal election|website=Democracy|language=de|publisher=Manifesto Project|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref> A [[capital flight]] to Switzerland ensued due to fear of increased taxes for the wealthy through higher [[inheritance tax]] and a [[wealth tax]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Hirt|first=Oliver|date=24 September 2021|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-millionaires-rush-assets-switzerland-ahead-election-2021-09-24/|title=German millionaires rush assets to Switzerland ahead of election|work=Reuters|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>

The Left won 4.9% of votes and 39 seats in the 26 September federal election, its worst showing since its official formation in 2007, narrowly failing to cross the 5% [[electoral threshold]]. The party was nonetheless entitled to full [[proportional representation]] as it won three [[List of Bundestag constituencies|direct constituencies]]; two in [[Berlin]] and one in [[Leipzig]]. This meant a net loss of 4.3 percentage points of vote share and 30 seats overall. Notably, {{awrap|Vice President}} of the Bundestag [[Petra Pau]] was defeated in her direct constituency of [[Berlin-Marzahn – Hellersdorf]]. Due to The Left's poor performance, a left-wing coalition fell a few seats short of a majority in the [[Bundestag]].<ref>{{cite news|date=27 September 2021|title=Factbox: German 'traffic light' coalition seen as most likely|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/german-traffic-light-coalition-seen-most-likely-2021-09-27/|access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref>

State elections in [[2021 Berlin state election|Berlin]] and [[2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] were held on the same day. The Left suffered minor losses in both, but nonetheless joined coalition governments in each state. In Berlin, they joined a renewed coalition with the SPD and Greens.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2021/12/berlin-linke-koalitionsvertrag-entscheidung-koalition-rot-gruen-rot.html|title=Berlin Left votes for red-green-red coalition agreement |date=17 December 2021|lang=de|website=RBB24}}</ref> In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, they replaced the CDU as junior partner to the SPD.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/SPD-und-Linke-unterzeichnen-Koalitionsvertrag-,koalitionmv154.html|title=SPD and Left sign coalition agreement|date=13 November 2021|language=de|website=[[Norddeutscher Rundfunk]]}}</ref><ref name="Reel">{{cite web|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/Jetzt-live-Schwesig-als-Ministerpraesidentin-von-MV-wiedergewaehlt,koalitionmv156.html|title=Schwesig is re-elected as Minister-President of MV|date=15 November 2021|language=de|website=[[Norddeutscher Rundfunk]]}}</ref>

After the federal election, The Left suffered internal strife and its fortunes continued to decline. A major blow came in the March [[2022 Saarland state election]], with the party losing all their seats amid conflict between the state leadership and [[Oskar Lafontaine]], who declined to run again and quit the party shortly before the election.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/28/olaf-scholz-spd-major-win-saarland-state-election-centre-left|title=Olaf Scholz's SPD secures major win in Saarland state election|date=28 March 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Further, reports of sexism and abuse arose within the Hesse branch, including claims that implicated Janine Wissler. In April, Susanne Hennig-Wellsow resigned as co-leader, citing the party's recent troubles and desire to spend more time with family.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2022-04/hennig-wellsow-tritt-als-parteivorsitzende-der-linkspartei-zurueck|title=Hennig-Wellsow resigns as chair of the Left Party|date=20 April 2022|language=de|website=[[Die Zeit]] |last1=Thaler |first1=Claudia}}</ref> Further losses came in the [[2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election|Schleswig-Holstein]] and [[2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia]] state elections in May.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merkur.de/politik/die-linke-raeumt-grosse-niederlage-in-schleswig-holstein-ein-91532131.html|title=The Left concedes a "great defeat" in Schleswig-Holstein|access-date=25 May 2022|language=de|website=[[Merkur]]|date=9 May 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/16/german-state-elections-populism-decline-north-rhine-westphalia|title=German state elections show populism in decline on left and right|date=16 May 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

=== 2022–2025: infighting and party split ===
The 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] highlighted fault lines within the party. The leadership and majority took a strongly pro-Ukrainian stance, while the faction around [[Sahra Wagenknecht]] opposed sanctions against Russia.<ref name="Verge">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/19/germanys-die-linke-on-verge-of-split-over-sanctions-on-russia|title=Germany's Die Linke on verge of split over sanctions on Russia|date=19 September 2022|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> At the party congress in June, incumbent Janine Wissler was re-elected as leader, while co-chair of [[The Left in the European Parliament]] (GUE/NGL) group [[Martin Schirdewan]] was elected as Hennig-Wellsow's successor. They both faced challenges from candidates aligned with Wagenknecht's faction, winning majorities of 57% and 61% of votes respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/janine-wissler-die-linke-bundesvorsitzende-100.html|title= Wissler and Schirdewan new party leaders|date=26 June 2022|language=de|website=[[ZDF]]}}</ref>

During a Bundestag speech in September, Wagenknecht attacked the federal government for launching what she called "an unprecedented economic war against our most important energy supplier," and called for the end of sanctions against Russia. The speech was boycotted by half The Left's deputies, and prompted numerous calls for her resignation by colleagues. Hundreds of members were reported to have left the party over the dispute, including prominent former Bundestag member [[Fabio De Masi]]. ''[[Die Tageszeitung]]'' reported that Wagenknecht's supporters had begun planning a breakaway party to compete in the [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|2024 European elections]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/linke-hunderte-parteiaustritte-nach-aeusserung-von-sahra-wagenknecht-a-d5a16acc-91ea-49d3-8edf-5b63a50e91c7|title=The Left: Hundreds of party resignations after statements by Sahra Wagenknecht|date=13 October 2022|language=de|website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/linke-finanzexperte-fabio-de-masi-verlaesst-die-partei-a-1fafbee3-ad4f-43e2-a77e-1d2a1f402720|title=Left: finance expert Fabio De Masi leaves the party|date=13 September 2022|language=de|website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref><ref name="Verge"/>

In the [[2023 Berlin state election]], The Left lost two seats in the [[Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin]]; further, in the [[2023 Bremen state election]], they retained their 10 seats in the [[Bürgerschaft of Bremen]].<ref>{{cite web |date=13 February 2023 |title=Berlin: Conservatives projected to win repeated vote |url=https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-conservatives-projected-to-win-repeated-vote/a-64680065 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=15 May 2023 |title=Scholz's Social Democrats win Bremen state vote, Greens slump |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bremen-election-may-boost-scholzs-slumping-social-democrats-2023-05-14/ |website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> In the [[2023 Hessian state election]], The Left were [[Electoral wipeout|wiped out]] after achieving 3.1% of the vote, thus losing their 9 seats due to falling short of the 5% threshold needed for representation.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 October 2023 |title=Germany: Scholz coalition battered in Bavaria, Hesse polls |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-scholz-coalition-battered-in-bavaria-hesse-elections/a-67037370 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

In October 2023, Wagenknecht and nine other Bundestag members, including faction co-leader [[Amira Mohamed Ali]] and former federal leader [[Klaus Ernst]], announced their intention to leave The Left and launch a new party, the [[Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/23/german-politician-sahra-wagenknecht-leaves-die-linke-to-set-up-new-party|title=German firebrand politician quits far-left Die Linke to set up her own party|date=24 October 2023|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> This pushed The Left below the minimum number of members required to sustain an [[The Left faction (Bundestag)|official faction in the Bundestag, and it was preemptively dissolved]] on 6 December.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/germany-left-party-wagenknecht-parliament-4d7e77f971ecdcd926f2267ae76acc29|title=Germany's opposition Left Party to dissolve caucus after prominent member launches rival venture|date=14 November 2023|website=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> In February it was reorganised as a [[The Left group (Bundestag)|group with reduced status]]. Former faction leader Dietmar Bartsch declined to run again.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-02/linke-dietmar-bartsch-vorsitz-rueckzug|title=Bartsch withdraws from the chairmanship of the Left in the Bundestag|date=4 February 2024|language=de|website=[[Die Zeit]] |last1=Keinath |first1=Anja }}</ref> [[Heidi Reichinnek]] and [[Sören Pellmann]], who previously ran against Wissler and Schirdewan for the federal leadership, announced their intention to contest against the pro-leadership duo of [[Clara Bünger]] and [[Ates Gürpinar]]. On the first ballot, Reichinnek defeated Bünger 14 votes to 13; Gürpinar withdrew in favour of Bünger in the second ballot, but she was defeated again by Pellmann, again 14 to 13.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rnd.de/politik/linke-pellmann-und-reichinnek-gewinnen-kampfabstimmung-ueber-vorsitz-im-bundestag-VLZTFFCI3NOAVKS7KT7DMTG2AE.html|title=Pellmann and Reichinnek win battle vote against Left Chairman in the Bundestag|date=20 February 2024|language=de|website=[[RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland|RND]]}}</ref>

The Left suffered its worst ever result in a nationwide election at the [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|2024 European elections]] in June, winning only 2.7% of the vote and three seats. Wissler and Schirdewan announced the next month that they would not seek re-election at the upcoming party congress.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/left-party-leaders-wissler-and-schirdewan-to-step-down/a-69973636|title=Left Party leaders Wissler and Schirdewan to step down|date=18 August 2024|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

In September, the party suffered major defeats in state elections in [[2024 Brandenburg state election|Brandenburg]], [[2024 Saxony state election|Saxony]] and [[2024 Thuringian state election|Thuringia]]. They were reduced to fourth place in Thuringia with 13%, while in Brandenburg and Saxony they fell below 5%, only narrowly retaining their seats in the latter state. BSW, conversely, performed strongly and placed third in each state.<ref name=":02">{{Cite news |last=Sepp |first=Maximilian |date=15 August 2024 |title=Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht: Auf dem Weg zur Regierungspartei? |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/buendnis-sahra-wagenknecht-was-das-bsw-in-sachsen-thueringen-und-brandenburg-erreichen-kann-a-0c88da33-49f8-4096-94cd-b110340f22de |access-date=15 August 2024 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de}}</ref> In October, the party congress elected [[Ines Schwerdtner]] and [[Jan van Aken (politician)|Jan van Aken]] as the new co-leaders with only marginal opposition.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-socialist-left-party-elects-new-leaders/a-70542425|title=Germany: Socialist Left Party elects new leaders|date=19 October 2024|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> By 31 December 2024, the number of party members had grown to 58,532 (after it had fallen from 54,214 by the end of 2022 to 50,251 by the end of 2023).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/mitgliederzahlen-2022|title=Mitgliederzahlen 2022: Die Linke|language=de|website=die-linke.de|date=31 December 2022|access-date=7 May 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318111353/https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/mitgliederzahlen-2022/|archive-date=18 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/mitgliederzahlen-2023|title=Mitgliederzahlen 2023: Die Linke|language=de|website=die-linke.de|date=31 December 2023|access-date=7 May 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130220759/https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/mitgliederzahlen-2023/|archive-date=30 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/mitgliederzahlen-2024|title=Mitgliederzahlen 2024: Die Linke|language=de|website=die-linke.de|date=31 December 2024|access-date=7 May 2025|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250507124952/https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/mitgliederzahlen-2024/|archive-date=7 May 2025}}</ref>

===2025 federal election===
[[File:Bundestagswahl 2025 Zweitstimmen Linke.svg|thumb|right|Die Linke support in the [[2025 German federal election]]]]
{{multiple image|perrow = 3|total_width=400
| image1            = 2025-01-18 Außerordentlicher Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2025 in Berlin by Sandro Halank–177.jpg
| image2            = 2025-01-18 Außerordentlicher Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2025 in Berlin by Sandro Halank–027.jpg
| image3            = 2024-11-25-Ines Schwerdtner-Hart aber fair-0953.jpg
| image4            = 2024-09-02 Politik, Landtagswahl Thüringen, Pressekonferenz Die Linke am Tag nach der Wahl STP 4627 by Stepro Crop.jpg
| image5            = Pascal Meiser (31073001457) (cropped).jpg
| image6           = Ferat Koçak in 2022.jpg
| caption_align     = center
| footer            = Six LINKE members won direct constituencies in [[2025 German federal election|2025]]. They are, clockwise from top left:<br> 
* [[Gregor Gysi]], [[Sören Pellmann]], and [[Ines Schwerdtner]] defended [[Berlin-Treptow – Köpenick]], [[Leipzig II]], and [[Berlin-Lichtenberg (electoral district)|Berlin-Lichtenberg]] respectively. Incumbent [[Gesine Lötzsch]] retired in Lichtenberg.
* [[Ferat Koçak]], [[Pascal Meiser]], and [[Bodo Ramelow]] flipped [[Berlin-Neukölln (electoral district)|Berlin-Neukölln]], [[Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East]], and [[Erfurt – Weimar – Weimarer Land II]] respectively.  
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By the time the [[2025 German federal election|early federal election]] was called in December 2024, the Left was polling around 3% and was not generally expected to return to the Bundestag. The party nominated Jan van Aken and Heidi Reichinnek as lead candidates for the campaign. In light of their poor polling, they also promoted a trio of candidates for the [[List of Bundestag constituencies|direct constituencies]]: [[Gregor Gysi]], [[Bodo Ramelow]], and [[Dietmar Bartsch]], aiming to bypass the five percent electoral threshold. This effort was dubbed ''Mission Silberlocke'' ("silver locks") in reference to their age.<ref name="DW 10-02-25">{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-left-party-2025-elections/a-71338903|title=Left Party gains confidence as German election nears|date=10 February 2025|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

The Left experienced an unexpected rise in support during the campaign, surging to 6–7% a week before the election. Heidi Reichinnek delivered a speech in late January in the Bundestag strongly condemning CDU leader [[Friedrich Merz]]'s legislative collaboration with the [[Alternative for Germany]], which subsequently went viral on social media.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Luyken |first=Jörg |date=19 February 2025 |title=Heidi Reichinnek: the tattooed hard-Left 'Queen of Tiktok' enjoying late election surge in Germany |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/02/19/hard-left-german-leader-heidi-reichinnek-surges-in-polls/ |access-date=19 February 2025 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> This was followed by a surge in popularity and membership for the party, particularly among women and young people. Polling suggested it could become the most popular party among voters aged 18–24. Reichinnek's campaign appearances and speeches surged in attendance, with media referring to her as a "social media star".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://taz.de/Social-Media-Star-im-Bundestagswahlkampf/!6066677/|title=Social media star in the Bundestag election campaign: Like a phoenix from the red ashes|date=14 February 2025|language=de|website=[[Die Tageszeitung]]}}</ref> The party's staunch opposition to the AfD, housing and tax policy, pro-immigrant attitude, and disillusion with the other left-wing parties were cited as potential points of strength in the campaign.<ref name="DW 10-02-25"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/18/could-the-left-linke-surprise-in-german-election-elon-musk-afd-election|title='The lurch to the right scares me': could the left surprise in German election?|date=18 February 2025|website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/02/18/germanys-the-left-party-sees-surge-in-support-after-going-viral-online|title=Germany's The Left party sees surge in support after going viral online|date=18 February 2025|website=[[Euronews]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-left-party-stages-late-poll-surge-with-fiery-call-barricades-2025-02-14/|title=Germany's Left party stages late poll surge with fiery call to the 'barricades'|date=14 February 2025|website=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> The contrast between the Left and the BSW has been discussed in the media.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Improbable Resurgence of Die Linke |url=https://jacobin.com/2025/02/die-linke-germany-renewal-strategy |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=jacobin.com}}</ref>

In the election on 23 February 2025, The Left won 8.8% of the vote and 64 seats, their best result since 2017. The party won six direct constituencies, including those of Gregor Gysi, Sören Pellmann, and Bodo Ramelow, as well as three newcomers in Berlin: Ines Schwerdtner in [[Berlin-Lichtenberg (electoral district)|Lichtenberg]], Pascal Meiser in [[Berlin-Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East|Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg]], and Ferat Koçak in [[Berlin-Neukölln (electoral district)|Neukölln]]. This latter victory marked the first time the Left had won a constituency in the former West. Exit polling indicated that The Left was the most popular party among voters aged 18–24, winning 25% of this group, and 16% among voters aged 25–34. The party gained primarily from Greens and SPD voters, as well as from minor party and non-voters, while losing a lesser number of votes to the BSW.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://taz.de/Wahlerfolg-der-Linken/!6071319/|title=The Left's electoral success: No time to celebrate now|date=23 February 2025|language=de|website=[[Die Tageszeitung]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/bundestagswahl-2025-die-jungen-waehlen-links-die-alten-die-union-a-ba4b0053-732b-4a2d-9579-43ac8367e828|title=The young vote left, the old vote for the Union|date=23 February 2025|language=de|website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/bundestagswahl-2025-ergebnisse-so-hat-deutschland-gewaehlt-aktuelle-daten-a-6ace92df-43cc-48de-b183-2c98c7c19c2f|title=How Germany voted|date=23 February 2025|language=de|website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref>

== Ideology and platform ==
{{socialism sidebar}}

The Left advocates for [[democratic socialism]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nordsieck|first=Wolfram|date=September 2021|title=Parties and Elections in Europe|url=http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/germany.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022030015/http://www.parties-and-elections.eu/germany.html|archive-date=22 October 2021|access-date=23 October 2021|website=Parties and Elections in Europe}}</ref><ref name="CiniBorragan2013">{{cite book |editor1-last=Cini |editor1-first=Michelle |editor2-last=Perez-Solorzano Borragan |editor2-first=Nieves |title=European Union Politics |chapter=Glossary |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTNVM4YDTQcC&pg=PA387 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |page=387 |isbn=978-0-19-969475-4}}</ref> as an alternative to [[capitalism]].<ref name="bpb.de">{{cite web|url=https://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/die-linke/42133/programmatik|title=Die Programmatik der LINKEN &#124; Parteien in Deutschland &#124; bpb|first=Frank|last=Decker|language=de|website=bpb.de|date=6 February 2023 }}</ref> The Left is vocally [[Anti-fascism|anti-fascist]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteistruktur/zusammenschluesse/bag-antifaschismus/ |title=BAG Antifaschismus
|work=Die Linke |access-date=6 May 2021}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=October 2024}} and [[Antimilitarism|anti-militarist]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cTEY41vUZPEC&pg=PA130 |title=Antimilitarism: Political and Gender Dynamics of Peace Movements |page=130 |first=Cynthia |last=Cockburn |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-230-35975-8 |via=Google Books |access-date=14 February 2017}}</ref> As a platform for [[left-wing politics]] in the wake of [[globalization]], the Left includes many different factions, ranging from [[Communism|communists]] to [[Social democracy|social democrats]]. During the joint party convention with the [[Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative]] in March 2007, a document outlining political principles was agreed on. The official program of the party was decided upon by an overwhelming majority at the party conference in October 2011 in [[Erfurt]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.die-linke.de/party/documents/party-programme/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926152139/https://en.die-linke.de/party/documents/party-programme/|archive-date=26 September 2021|title=Programme of the Die Linke Party|website=Die Linke|publisher=The Left|date=23 October 2011|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>

The Left is sometimes considered part of the German "[[Centre-left politics|centre-left]]" camp.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VnkGEAAAQBAJ&dq=centre-left+die+linke&pg=PA200 |title=How German Parties Select Candidates of Immigrant Origin: Neutrality, Opening Or Closure? |date=October 31, 2020 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-59451-0 |editor=Ceyhan |editor-first=Sara |page=200 |quote=... Center-left parties, such as the SPD, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN, and DIE LINKE, are believed to be more open to IO candidates than political parties further on the center-right of the political spectrum ...}}</ref><ref name=UrbanRev>{{cite book |last=Best |first=Ulrich |chapter=The Debate about Berlin Tempelhof Airport, or: A Lefebvrean Critique of Recent Debates about Affect in Geography |editor-last1=Moravánszky |editor-first1=Ákos |editor-last2=Schmid |editor-first2=Christian |editor-last3=Stanek |editor-first3=Lukasz |date=2014 |title=Urban Revolution Now: Henri Lefebvre in Social Research and Architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Urban_Revolution_Now.html?id=_hGdBQAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |page=283 |isbn=1-4724-0271-5 |editor1-link=Ákos Moravánszky}}</ref> It has been described as "[[Far-left politics|far-left]]" by journalists in some news outlets including the [[BBC]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30342441|title=Die Linke triumph: Mixed reaction as German far-left gains power|work=BBC News|date=5 December 2014}}</ref> [[Euronews]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.euronews.com/2014/11/20/far-left-die-linke-take-charge-of-german-region/|title=Far-left Die Linke take charge of German region|date=20 November 2014}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/17/german-elections-die-linke-party|title=Die Linke party wins German votes by standing out from crowd|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=17 September 2009}}</ref> {{Lang|de|[[Der Spiegel]]}},<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-left-party-strong-but-shunned-by-mainstream-a-922870.html|title=German Left Party Strong But Shunned by Mainstream|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=19 September 2013|last1=Hawley|first1=Charles}}</ref> and ''[[Politico]]'',<ref>{{Cite news | last = Lunday | first = Chris | title = Germany's far-left party sees membership surge before election | work = Politico Europe | date = 11 February 2025 | url = https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-far-left-party-record-membership-surge-election-die-linke/ | access-date = 17 February 2025 }}</ref> and is considered to be [[Left-wing populism|left-wing populist]] by some researchers.<ref name="keating"/><ref>Rooduijn, Matthijs, Andrea L.P. Pirro, Daphne Halikiopoulou, Caterina Froio, Stijn van Kessel, Sarah L. de Lange, Cas Mudde, and Paul Taggart (2023). The PopuList: A Database of Populist, Far-Left, and Far-Right Parties Using Expert-Informed Qualitative Comparative Classification (EiQCC). British Journal of Political Science, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123423000431.</ref>

=== Economic policy ===
The Left aims at increasing [[government spending]] in the areas of public investments, education, research and development, culture, and infrastructure, as well as increasing taxes for large [[corporation]]s. It calls for increases in [[inheritance tax]] rates and the reinstatement of the individual [[net worth]] tax. The party aims at a linear [[income tax]] progression, which would reduce the tax burden for lower incomes, while raising the middle- and top-income tax rates. The combating of tax loopholes is a perennial issue, as The Left believes that they primarily benefit people with high incomes. The party aims for the financial markets to be subject to heavier government regulation, with the goal, among others, to reduce the speculation of bonds and derivatives. The party wants to strengthen [[Competition law|anti-trust laws]] and empower [[cooperative]]s to decentralise the economy. Further economic reforms supported by the party include solidarity and more self-determination for workers, a ban on [[Fracking|hydraulic fracturing]], the rejection of [[privatization]], and the introduction of a federal [[minimum wage]],<ref name=BBCLeft>{{cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Steve|date=24 September 2009|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8272658.stm|title=German hard left set to gain ground|agency=BBC News|access-date=31 October 2021}}</ref> and more generally the overthrow of property and power structures in which, citing [[Karl Marx]]'s aphorism, "man is a debased, enslaved, abandoned, despicable essence."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://die-linke.de/fileadmin/download/international/programmatic_points.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210617/http://die-linke.de/fileadmin/download/international/programmatic_points.pdf|archive-date=27 September 2007|title=Key Programmatic Points|website=Die Linke|publisher=The Left|page=5|access-date=23 October 2021}}</ref>

=== Foreign policy ===
Concerning foreign policy, The Left calls for international [[disarmament]], while ruling out any form of involvement of the [[Bundeswehr]] outside of Germany. The party calls for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/us-troops-germany-public-opinion-pull-out-nato-summit-merkel-a8442021.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/us-troops-germany-public-opinion-pull-out-nato-summit-merkel-a8442021.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Germans want Donald Trump to pull US troops out of Germany, poll finds |work=The Independent |first=Jon |last=Stone |date=11 July 2018 |access-date=12 July 2018}}</ref> as well as the replacement of [[NATO]] with a [[collective security]] system including Russia as a member country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Left party plans to scrap NATO, end troop deployments – DW – 06/20/2021 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-left-party-plans-to-scrap-nato-end-troop-deployments/a-57973017 |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=dw.com}}</ref> They believe that German foreign policy should be strictly confined to the goals of civil diplomacy and cooperation, instead of confrontation, though they also believe that such demands are more of a vision, are not to be implemented as soon as possible, and should not be seen as inflexible preconditions for a federal, left-wing [[red–red–green coalition]].<ref name="Oltermann 2021">{{cite news|last=Oltermann|first=Philip|date=24 September 2021|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/24/german-progressives-dare-to-dream-of-leftist-red-green-red-coalition|title=German progressives dare to dream of leftist 'red-green-red' coalition|work=The Guardian|access-date=27 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Nöstlinger|first=Nette|date=20 September 2021|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-election-2021-left-party-prepared-to-join-government-under-olaf-scholz-die-linke-gregor-gysi/|title=Germany's Marxist firebrand plots for the Left's moment|website=Politico|access-date=1 October 2021}}</ref>

In their manifesto, the party says: "All support for NATO states which, like [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan|Erdoğan]]'s Turkey, disregard international law, must be stopped immediately."<ref>{{cite news |title=Turkey in Germany's 2021 Elections: Political party manifestos and their views on Turkey – Dr Ronald Meinardus |url=https://www.eliamep.gr/en/publication/%CE%B7-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85%CF%81%CE%BA%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B9%CF%82-%CE%B3%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BC%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AD%CF%82-%CE%B5%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%AD%CF%82-%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85-20/ |date=9 September 2021}}</ref> The Left criticised Germany's defense plan with Saudi Arabia, which has been [[Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war|waging war]] in Yemen and has been accused of massive [[Human rights in Saudi Arabia|human rights]] violations.<ref>"[https://www.thelocal.de/20161208/opposition-parties-condemn-german-defence-deal-with-saudi-arabia Opposition parties condemn German defence plan with Saudi Arabia]". ''The Local''. 8 December 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Germany moving to limit arms sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/28/germany-moving-to-limit-arms-sales-to-saudi-arabia-uae-turkey |work=Al-Jazeera |date=28 April 2018}}</ref> The Left supports further debt cancellations for developing countries and increases in development aid, in collaboration with the [[United Nations]], [[World Trade Organization]], [[World Bank]], and diverse bilateral treaties among countries. The party supports [[reform of the United Nations]] as long as it is aimed at a fair balance between developed and developing countries. The Left would have all American military bases within Germany, and if possible in the [[European Union]], enacted within a binding treaty, dissolved. The Left welcomes [[European integration]], while opposing what it considers to be [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] policies in the European Union. The party strives for the democratisation of the EU institutions and a stronger role of the United Nations in international politics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Germany|url=https://europeelects.eu/germany/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009172528/https://europeelects.eu/germany/|archive-date=9 October 2021|access-date=23 October 2021|website=Europe Elects}}</ref> The Left opposed both the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|war in Afghanistan]] and the [[Iraq War]],<ref name="BBCLeft" /> as well as the [[Treaty of Lisbon]].<ref name="euractiv lisbon treaty">{{cite web|url=http://www.euractiv.com/en/future-eu/bundestag-paves-way-lisbon-treaty-ratification/article-185252?Ref=RSS|title=Bundestag paves way for Lisbon Treaty ratification|publisher=EurActive.com|date=9 September 2009|access-date=28 September 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609230050/http://www.euractiv.com/en/future-eu/bundestag-paves-way-lisbon-treaty-ratification/article-185252?Ref=RSS|archive-date=9 June 2011}}</ref>

==== Russia ====
The party has a mixed stance towards the [[Russo-Ukrainian War]]. [[Gregor Gysi]] has described Russia as [[State capitalism|state capitalist]], and the party has called the [[annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation]] and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine to be illegal; however, Gysi commented that older elements of the party have a strong penchant for Russia and the [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="test">{{cite journal|last=Gysi|first=Gregor|year=2014|url=http://www.israelcfr.com/documents/gregor-gysi.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617125317/http://www.israelcfr.com/documents/gregor-gysi.pdf|archive-date=17 June 2015|title=Europe and the Crisis in Ukraine: Is the International Community Facing a New East–West Conflict?|journal=Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs|volume=VIII|issue=3|pages=75–87|doi=10.1080/23739770.2014.11446604|s2cid=142320061|access-date=23 October 2021|via=Israel Council on Foreign Relations}}</ref> The party declared in May 2014 that Ukraine should not receive any kind of support from Germany as long as there are fascists inside its government.<ref name="gazeta">{{cite web|url=http://wiadomosci.gazeta.pl/wiadomosci/1,114881,15940883,Niemiecka_partia_Lewica__Ukraina_nie_powinna_dostawac.html|title=Niemiecka partia Lewica: Ukraina nie powinna dostawać pieniędzy od UE, dopóki rządzą nią faszyści|date=11 May 2014 |publisher=wiadomosci.gazeta.pl|access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> Some members and former members of the party (like MP [[Andrej Hunko]], who has since left the party and joined BSW) are strong supporters of the [[Donetsk People's Republic]] and [[Luhansk People's Republic]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/wolfgang-gehrcke-und-andrej-hunko-in-der-ostukraine-linken-abgeordnete-auf-abenteuertour-im-kriegsgebiet/11400156.html |title=Linken-Abgeordnete auf Abenteuertour im Kriegsgebiet|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online|date=20 February 2015|language=de|access-date=22 October 2019|last1=Meisner|first1=Matthias}}</ref>

==== China ====
The party takes a friendly stance towards China;<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Kastner |first=Jens |date=20 April 2023 |title=China finds unlikely allies in Germany's far right and far left |work=[[Nikkei Asia]] |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/China-finds-unlikely-allies-in-Germany-s-far-right-and-far-left |access-date=12 May 2023}}</ref> [[Sevim Dağdelen]], former deputy leader of The Left in the Bundestag (now BSW), criticized EU commission president [[Ursula von der Leyen]]'s speech calling for a new EU policy towards China, saying that "[t]he EU and its member states want to challenge the emerging power China, including through military means."<ref name=":0" />

==== Israel ====
On 22 October 2023, in the wake of [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel|Hamas's attack on Israel]], [[Martin Schirdewan]], former co-chair of The Left, spoke at a Berlin demonstration in solidarity with Israel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Solidaritätskundgebung mit Israel in Berlin 22.10.2023 |url=https://www.martin-schirdewan.eu/videos/solidaritaetskundgebung-mit-israel-in-berlin-22-10-2023/ |access-date=24 February 2025 |website=Martin Schirdewan}}</ref>

During a Berlin party congress on 11 October 2024, the Berlin party branch passed a resolution condemning Hamas's attack on Israel, declaring that Hamas's attack does not justify that the Israeli military breaks international law, affirming Israel's right to exist, accusing the [[Anti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]] left of [[antisemitism]], calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas, demanding that the German government stops the supply of weapons to Israel, and expressing support for a [[two-state solution]].<ref name=Christmann>{{cite news |first=Karin |last=Christmann |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/linken-parteitag-um-nahost-wird-auf-der-buhne-gestritten--und-dahinter-12559019.html |title=Beginn des Linken-Parteitags: Um Nahost wird auf der Bühne gestritten – und dahinter |work=[[Der Tagesspiegel]] |language=de |date=2024-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220111451/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/linken-parteitag-um-nahost-wird-auf-der-buhne-gestritten--und-dahinter-12559019.html |archive-date=2024-12-20 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> A week later and after heated discussions, the federal party congress approved a different declaration, in which they welcomed "the [[International Court of Justice]]'s efforts to prevent a genocide", and the references to the anti-Zionist left were watered down.<ref name=Christmann/> In disagreement with the federal resolution, five prominent members from Berlin abandoned the party.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Erik |last=Peter |title=Linke in Berlin: Parteiaustritte nach Antisemitismus-Streit |work=[[Die Tageszeitung]] |date=2024-10-23 |url=https://taz.de/Linke-in-Berlin/!6044784/ |language=de}}</ref>

In December 2024, the Palestinian-German activist Ramsis Kilani was expelled from The Left by a party arbitration panel for alleged anti&shy;semitism reported by ''[[Der Tagesspiegel]]'', which critics of The Left's pro-Israel stance claim is distorted, falsified, and taken out of context.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Flakin |first=Nathaniel |date=18 October 2024 |title=Berlin's Left Party Is Attacking Pro-Palestinian Activists |url=https://www.leftvoice.org/berlins-left-party-is-attacking-pro-palestinian-activists/ |access-date=24 February 2025 |website=Left Voice}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Flakin |first=Nathaniel |date=13 December 2024 |title=Germany's Left Party Expels Palestinian Activist |url=https://www.leftvoice.org/germanys-left-party-expels-palestinian-activist/ |access-date=24 February 2025 |website=Left Voice}}</ref> ''Der Tagesspiegel'' was previously found in court to have falsely accused a pro-Palestinian art venue of anti&shy;semitism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Court decision in favor of Oyoun confirms integrity and ends defamation |url=https://oyoun.de/en/presse/oyoun-gewinnt-gerichtsverfahren-gegen-tagesspiegel/ |access-date=24 February 2025 |website=Oyoun {{!}} Kultur NeuDenken |date=25 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250228065608/https://oyoun.de/en/presse/oyoun-gewinnt-gerichtsverfahren-gegen-tagesspiegel/ |archive-date=28 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=yesdevs |date=2024-07-23 |title=Oyoun wins legal victory in fight against funding withdrawal |url=https://www.the-berliner.com/english-news-berlin/israel-palestine-free-speech-oyoun-joe-chialo-legal-victory-fight-against-funding-withdrawal/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=The Berliner}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |first=Jo |last=Lawson-Tancred |date=2024-03-26 |title=Court Sides with Berlin Arts Center Accused of Antisemitism |url=https://news.artnet.com/art-world/oyoun-accused-antisemitism-2458602 |access-date=2025-05-10 |website=Artnet News}}</ref>

The Left criticized [[Friedrich Merz]]'s decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] to Germany, despite an [[International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders|arrest warrant]] issued against him by the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC). Jan van Aken said, "If Vladimir Putin comes to Germany, then this arrest warrant must be implemented. The same applies to Netanyahu."<ref>{{cite news |title=Merz says he will find a way for Netanyahu to visit Germany without being arrested |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/election-winner-merz-invites-netanyahu-germany-says-israelis-office-2025-02-24/ |work=Reuters |date=24 February 2025}}</ref>

== Organisation ==
[[File:Hallescher Parteitag - Die Vorsitzenden 04.jpg|thumb|[[Ines Schwerdtner]] (left) and [[Jan van Aken (politician)|Jan van Aken]] at the 2024 federal party conference]]
The Left is organised into branches in each of the 16 [[States of Germany|states]]. The party has smaller branches on a local level, for which the corresponding state branches are responsible. These branches usually organise across a [[Districts of Germany|district]], city, or (in [[Berlin]]) [[Boroughs and quarters of Berlin|borough]]. The lowest unit of the party is the grassroots organization, which, depending on the density of membership, can include a residential area, a city or an entire district.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteistruktur/kommissionen/|title=Kommissionen|publisher=The Left}}</ref> The party has a youth wing, [[Left Youth Solid]], and a student wing known as The Left.SDS. The party is also affiliated with a number of left-wing [[think tank]]s, education, and policy groups, most prominently the [[Rosa Luxemburg Foundation]].

The party is formally led by a 26-member Party Executive Committee (PEC), of which seven are members of the party's leadership, the executive board. This includes two federal co-chairpersons, of which at least one is required by statute to be female. Convention also dictates that one leader should come from the Eastern states and one from the west, though this is not an official rule. The PEC is elected by a regular party congress, which also discusses and determines the party platform and rules on basic political and organisational matters.<ref name="BPBorganisation">{{cite web|url=https://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/die-linke/42135/organisation|title=The organization of the LEFT|date=5 January 2021|language=de|website=[[Federal Agency for Civic Education]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.die-linke.de/party/party-congress/|title=Party Congress|publisher=The Left}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/linkspartei-wissler-kandidaten-vorsitz-pellmann-100.html|title=Early elections at the Left Party: Who is running for party leadership?|date=25 June 2022|language=de|website=[[Deutschlandfunk]]}}</ref> The leadership group of the party's Bundestag faction is considered a second centre of power within the party, and conflicts sometimes arise between the federal leadership and parliamentary group. This most prominently happened in 2015, which resulted in Bundestag co-leaders [[Sahra Wagenknecht]] and [[Dietmar Bartsch]] being elected as lead candidates for the 2017 federal election, defeating federal co-chairs [[Katja Kipping]] and [[Bernd Riexinger]].<ref name="BPBorganisation"/>

The Left's internal structure underwent a transitional phase after its formation in 2007 in order to integrate the different groups. Western party organisations were initially strongly favoured in party congresses, which strengthened the "fundamental opposition" faction of [[Oskar Lafontaine]]. These provisions expired at the 2014 party congress. The dual leadership, initially a temporary measure, was adopted permanently in 2010. This was not initially the case for the parliamentary group leadership, which was co-chaired by both [[Gregor Gysi]] and Lafontaine between 2005 and 2009, and solely by Gysi thereafter. After his retirement in 2015, however, the dual chairmanship was reintroduced.<ref name="BPBorganisation"/> The executive committee originally comprised 44 members, but was reduced to 26 at the 2022 party congress.

The Left is noted for having an unusually strong and formalised system of internal factions, which are outlined in the party statutes. Factions with sufficiently large membership are entitled to send delegates to party congresses. In addition, there are around 40 working groups within the party.<ref name="BPBorganisation"/><ref name="Zus">{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse/|title=Federations|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=The Left}}</ref>

Since October 2024, the composition of the Party Executive Committee has been as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/parteitag/hallescher-parteitag-2024/hallescher-parteitag/wahl-des-parteivorstands|title=Election of the Party Executive|date=19 October 2024|website=The Left}}</ref>

{| class=wikitable style="width:40em; text-align:center"
! style="width:12em;" | Position
! style="width:28em;" | Member(s)
|-
! Party Chair
| {{div col |colwidth=12em}}
* [[Ines Schwerdtner]]
* [[Jan van Aken (politician)|Jan van Aken]]
{{div col end}}
|-
! Deputy Party Chair
|
* [[Ates Gürpinar]]
* Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg
* Sabine Ritter
* Maximilian Schirmer
|-
! Federal Manager Officer
| 
* Janis Ehling
|-
! Federal Treasurer
| 
* Sebastian Koch
|-
! Youth Speaker
| 
* Lisa Pfitzmann
|-
! Student Speaker
| 
* Margarita Kavali
|-
! Member of the Party Executive Committee
| {{div col |colwidth=12em}}
* Sabine Berninger
* Candy Boldt-Händel
* Lorenz Gösta Beutin
* Katharina Dahme
* Ulrike Eifler
* Nina Eumann
* Olga Fritzsche
* Wulf Gallert
* Kathrin Gebel
* Margit Glasow
* Thies Gleiss
* Theo Glauch
* Hennis Herbst
* Alexander Kauz
* Markus Pohle
* Naisan Raji
{{div col end}}
|}

The Council of Elders (''Ältestenrat'') is an advisory body formed in December 2007. Lothar Bisky stated the council would "focus on the development of the party, allied and international issues, the history of the left and possible consequences for the socialist program." Its current composition is as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteistruktur/kommissionen/aeltestenrat/|title=Ältestenrat|publisher=The Left}}</ref>

{| class=wikitable style="width:40em; text-align:center"
! style="width:12em;" | Position
! style="width:28em;" | Member(s)
|-
! Speakers
| {{div col}}
* Bernhard Strasdeit
* Luc Jochimsen
{{div col end}}
|-
! Member of the<br />Council of Elders
| {{div col|colwidth=12em}}
* Klaus Bartl
* Safter Çinar
* Minka Dott
* Rosi Grewenig
* Rosi Hein
* Luc Jochimsen
* Walter Kappmeier
* Artur Pech
* Heidi Scharf
* Bärbel Schindler-Saefkow
* Alexander Schmejkal
* Renate Schmidt
* Christiane Schneider
* Volker Steinke
* Peter Vetter
* Ursula Weisser-Roelle
* [[Thomas Händel]]
{{div col end}}
|}

=== Leadership history ===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
! colspan=3| Federal chairpersons
! Term start
! Term end
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:Lothar Bisky PDS, Variante b.JPG|60x60px]]<br />[[Lothar Bisky]]
| [[File:Oskar Lafontaine (DIE LINKE) in Hamm (10571425525).jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Oskar Lafontaine]]
| {{start date|2007|06|16|df=y}}
| {{end date|2010|05|15|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:2018-06-09 Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2018 in Leipzig by Sandro Halank–115.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Gesine Lötzsch]]
| [[File:2018-06-09 Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2018 in Leipzig by Sandro Halank–054.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Klaus Ernst]]
| {{start date|2010|05|15|df=y}}
| {{end date|2012|06|02|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:2018-06-09 Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2018 in Leipzig by Sandro Halank–045.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Katja Kipping]]
| [[File:2018-06-09 Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2018 in Leipzig by Sandro Halank–085.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Bernd Riexinger]]
| {{start date|2012|06|02|df=y}}
| {{end date|2021|02|27|df=y}}
|-
| rowspan=2 bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:Susanne Hennig-Wellsow 2021-02-27 Digitalparteitag Die Linke 2021 by Martin Heinlein - Cropped.png|60x60px]]<br />[[Susanne Hennig-Wellsow]]
| rowspan=3| [[File:Janine Wissler 2 - 2021-02-27 Digitalparteitag Die Linke 2021 by Martin Heinlein (square).jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Janine Wissler]]
| {{start date|2021|02|27|df=y}}
| {{end date|2022|04|20|df=y}}
|-
| ''Vacant''
| {{end date|2022|04|20|df=y}}
| {{end date|2022|06|25|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:Martin Schirdewan, Parteitag Bonn 2019 (cropped).jpg|60x60px|Martin Schirdewan (2019)]]<br />[[Martin Schirdewan]]
| {{start date|2022|06|25|df=y}}
| {{end date|2024|10|19|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:Ines Schwerdtner.jpg|60x60px]]<br/>[[Ines Schwerdtner]]
| [[file:Hart aber fair 2024-03-04-8268.jpg|60x60px]]<br/>[[Jan van Aken (politician)|Jan van Aken]]
| {{start date|2024|10|19|df=y}}
| Incumbent
|}

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
! colspan=3| Bundestag chairpersons
! Term start
! Term end
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:13-06-10-dosb-wahlhearing-vorauswahl-03.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Gregor Gysi]]
| [[File:Oskar Lafontaine (DIE LINKE) in Hamm (10571425525).jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Oskar Lafontaine]]
| {{start date|2005|10|18|df=y}}
| {{end date|2009|10|27|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| colspan=2| [[File:13-06-10-dosb-wahlhearing-vorauswahl-03.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Gregor Gysi]]
| {{start date|2009|10|27|df=y}}
| {{end date|2015|10|13|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| rowspan=2| [[File:2018-06-09 Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2018 in Leipzig by Sandro Halank–141.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Dietmar Bartsch]]
| [[File:2018-06-09 Bundesparteitag Die Linke 2018 in Leipzig by Sandro Halank–126.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Sahra Wagenknecht]]
| {{start date|2015|10|13|df=y}}
| {{end date|2019|11|12|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:Amira Mohamed Ali Rheda.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Amira Mohamed Ali]]
| {{start date|2019|11|12|df=y}}
| {{end date|2023|12|6|df=y}}
|-
| bgcolor={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|
| [[File:ColognePride 2022-Samstag-Straßenfest-1605-Politik Block-8661.jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Heidi Reichinnek]]
| [[File:Sören Pellmann (51681701382) (cropped).jpg|60x60px]]<br />[[Sören Pellmann]]
| {{start date|2024|2|19|df=y}}
| Incumbent
|}

=== State branches ===
The party has branches in all 16 states. As of 31 December 2023, the membership of the branches is as follows.<ref name="branchmem">{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/mitgliederzahlen-2023/|title=Membership Figures 2023|publisher=The Left|access-date=25 October 2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! State
!Branch
! class="unsortable" | Leader(s)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/gliederungen-landesverbaende/ |title=Organizations |publisher=The Left |access-date=16 June 2023}}</ref>
! Members
|-
| {{flag|Baden-Württemberg}}
|
| [[Sahra Mirow]]<br />Elwis Capece 
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 3,500
|-
| {{flag|Bavaria}}
|
| Kathrin Flach-Gomez<br />{{ill|Adelheid Rupp|de}}
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 2,625
|-
| {{flag|Berlin}}
|
| {{ill|Franziska Brychcy|de}}<br />{{ill|Maximilian Schirmer|de}}
| style="text-align: right;" | {{increase}} 7,178
|-
| {{flag|Brandenburg}}
| [[The Left Brandenburg]]
| [[Katharina Slanina]]<br />[[Sebastian Walter]]
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 4,146
|-
| {{flag|Bremen}}
|
| Anna Fischer<br />{{ill|Christoph Spehr|de}}
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 705
|-
| {{flag|Hamburg}}
|
| {{ill|Sabine Ritter|de}}<br />{{ill|Thomas Iwan|de}}
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 1,671
|-
| {{flag|Hesse}}
|
| {{ill|Christiane Böhm|de}}<br />Jakob Migenda
| style="text-align: right;" | {{increase}} 3,080
|-
| {{flag|Lower Saxony}}
|
| Franziska Junker <br />Thorben Peters
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 2,660
|-
| {{flag|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}
|
| Hennis Herbst
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 2,484
|-
| {{flag|North Rhine-Westphalia}}
| [[The Left North Rhine-Westphalia]]
| [[Kathrin Vogler]]<br />[[Sascha H. Wagner]]
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 6,937
|-
| {{flag|Rhineland-Palatinate}}
|
| Stefan Glander<br/>Natalie Brosch
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 1,313
|-
| {{flag|Saarland}}
|
| [[Barbara Spaniol]]
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 1,154
|-
| {{flag|Saxony}}
|
| [[Susanne Schaper]]<br />Stefan Hartmann
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 6,098
|-
| {{flag|Saxony-Anhalt}}
|
| [[Janina Böttger]]<br />{{ill|Hendrik Lange|de|Hendrik Lange (Politiker)}}
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 2,511
|-
| {{flag|Schleswig-Holstein}}
|
| Susanne Spethmann<br />Luca Grimminger
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 1,005
|-
| {{flag|Thuringia}}
|
| {{ill|Ulrike Grosse-Röthig|de}}<br />{{ill|Christian Schaft|de}}
| style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 3,184
|-
! colspan="3" | Total
! style="text-align: right;" | {{decrease}} 50,251
|}

=== Internal factions ===
The Left is noted for having an unusually strong and formalised system of internal factions, which are outlined in the party statutes. Factions with sufficiently large membership are entitled to send delegates to party congresses. The party is traditionally split between reformist factions, such as the Reform Left Network and Forum for Democratic Socialism, and orthodox factions such as the Communist Platform, Anti-Capitalist Left, and Socialist Left. The Emancipatory Left occupies a middle position.<ref name="BPBorganisation"/><ref name="Zus"/>

However, starting from 2015, the party underwent an internal realignment due to the preeminence of [[Sahra Wagenknecht]], who advocated a return to a fundamentally working-class focus and populist positions in the wake of the [[2015 European migrant crisis]] and rise of the [[Alternative for Germany]]. In response, many eastern reformers and members of radical left factions allied in the broad "Movement Left" (''Bewegungslinke''), committed to social movements, environmentalism, and [[Intersectionality|intersectional]] progressivism.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nd-aktuell.de/artikel/1091290.stroemungen-in-der-linkspartei-die-neue-unuebersichtlichkeit.html|title=The new confusion|date=15 June 2018|language=de|website=[[Neues Deutschland]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.counterfire.org/articles/analysis/23601-where-is-germany-s-die-linke-heading|title=Where is Germany's Die Linke heading?|date=11 November 2022|website=[[Counterfire (group)|Counterfire]]}}</ref> The Movement Left broadly dominates the party, with no members of the Wagenknecht faction elected to the executive at the 2022 congress.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nd-aktuell.de/artikel/1164852.linke-parteitag-bewegungslinke-in-der-mehrheit.html|title=Left Congress: Movement Left in the majority|date=26 June 2022|language=de|website=[[Neues Deutschland]]}}</ref>

{| class=wikitable style="font-size:90%; text-align:center"
! Faction
! Description
|-
| '''Anti-Capitalist Left'''<br />''{{small|Antikapitalische Linke (AKL)}}''
| A current founded in 2006 which seeks to strengthen the party's anti-capitalist profile. The AKL describe themselves as "movement-oriented" and seek cooperation with extra-parliamentary parties and left-wing movements. They are aligned with the orthodox left-wing of The Left, and believe that the party should only participate in [[coalition government]]s if a set of minimum criteria are met, including no [[privatization]], no military operations, and no cuts to social welfare or the public service.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antikapitalistische-linke.de/|title=akl Anti-Capitalist Left|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=Anti-Capitalist Left}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse/antikapitalistische-linke/|title=Federations: Anti-Capitalist left|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=The Left}}</ref><ref name="BPBorganisation"/> The [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution|BfV]] classifies the AKL as an extremist association. In 2020, the AKL had 1,060 members.<ref name="BfV2020">{{cite web|url=https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/SharedDocs/publikationen/DE/2021/verfassungsschutzbericht-2020.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=5|title=Federal Constitutional Protection Report 2020|date=15 June 2021|publisher=[[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution]]}}</ref> Prominent members include [[Tobias Pflüger]], Cornelia Hirsch, [[Ulla Jelpke]], [[Lucy Redler]], and [[Niema Movassat]].
|-
| '''[[Communist Platform (Germany)|Communist Platform]]'''<br />''{{small|Kommunistische Plattform (KPF)}}''
| Originally formed as a tendency of the PDS. It is less critical of German Democratic Republic than other currents and upholds [[Orthodox Marxism|orthodox Marxist]] positions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse/kommunistische-plattform/|title=Communist Platform|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=The Left}}</ref><ref name="BPBorganisation"/> A "strategic goal" of the KPF is "building a new socialist society, using the positive experiences of [[real socialism]] and to learn from mistakes".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dielinke-brandenburg.de/|title=Die Linke Brandenburg|date=8 April 2025|website=dielinke-brandenburg.de}}</ref> Its primary leader was [[Sahra Wagenknecht]], former co-leader of the party's Bundestag faction. The BfV classifies the KPF as an extremist association. In 2020, the group had 1,122 members.<ref name="BfV2020"/>
|-
| '''Democratic Socialist Forum'''<br />''{{small|Forum demokratischer Sozialismus (fds)}}''
| A [[democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] group<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forum-ds.de/|title=Forum Democratic Socialism|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=Forum Democratic Socialism}}</ref> considered part of the reformist wing of the party.<ref name="BPBorganisation"/> Originally founded in 2002 as the ''Forum Second Renewal'', it was reformed in 2007 to promote the positions of the PDS within the new Left party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse/forum-demokratischer-sozialismus/|title=Forum Democratic Socialism|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=The Left}}</ref> It places emphasis on [[Civil and political rights|civil rights]] and social progressivism, and supports cooperation with the SPD and Greens. Prominent members include [[Dietmar Bartsch]] and Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg.
|-
| '''Ecological Platform'''<br />''{{small|Ökologische Plattform (ÖPF)}}''
| A current which promotes [[green politics]] and [[eco-socialism]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse/oekologische-plattform/|title=Ecological Platform|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=The Left}}</ref> Founded in 1994 within the PDS, it is critical of capitalism and supports [[degrowth]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oekologische-plattform.de/uber-uns-seite/|title=About us|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=Ecological Platform}}</ref> The group describes itself as "a forum for all left-wing ecologists", and is expressly open to non-Left party members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oekologische-plattform.de/mitgliedschaft/|title=Membership|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=Ecological Platform}}</ref>
|-
| '''Emancipatory Left'''<br />''{{small|Emanzipatorische Linke (Ema.Li)}}''
| A [[libertarian socialism|libertarian socialist]] current co-founded in May 2009 by [[Katja Kipping]], [[Caren Lay]], and [[Julia Bonk]].<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307155525/https://emanzipatorische-linke.org/|url=http://www.emanzipatorische-linke.org/|title=Ema.Li|archive-date=7 March 2021|language=de|url-status=usurped|website=Emancipatory Left}}</ref> They advocate [[radical democracy]], a decentralized society, and are supportive of [[social movement]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse/emanzipatorische-linke/|title=Emancipatory Left|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=The Left}}</ref> Ema.Li is described as holding a "middle position" between the reformist and orthodox wings of the party.<ref name="BPBorganisation"/> The group accepts members of other factions as well as non-party members. Besides its co-founders, prominent members include Christoph Spehr and [[Anne Helm (politician)|Anne Helm]].
|-
| '''Gera Dialogue/Socialist Dialogue'''<br />''{{small|Geraer Dialog/Sozialistischer Dialog (GD/SD)}}''
| Formed in February 2003 as a reaction to the increasing influence of reform-oriented groups such as the Reform Left Network. They opposed a shift away from Marxism and what they feared as a move toward a [[social market economy]] model.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archiv2007.sozialisten.de/politik/publikationen/kpf-mitteilungen/view_html/n0/pp1/bs1/zid6450|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064108/http://archiv2007.sozialisten.de/politik/publikationen/kpf-mitteilungen/view_html/n0/pp1/bs1/zid6450|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 March 2016|title=Die Linkspartei - Gera als Weltanschauung|date=4 March 2016}}</ref> As of 2021, the faction is only partly recognised within the party.<ref name="Zus"/> The BfV classified GD/SD as an extremist organisation in 2018, but did not include the group in its 2020 report.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/embed/vsbericht-2017.pdf|title=Report 2017|publisher=[[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution]]|access-date=31 March 2020|archive-date=26 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726194219/https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/embed/vsbericht-2017.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BfV2020"/>
|-
| '''Marxist Forum'''<br />''{{small|Marxistisches Forum (MF)}}''
| Founded in 1995 within the PDS to promote classical [[Marxism]]. It is critical of the reform-oriented wings and positions of the party and is often sympathetic to the GDR. As of 2021, the faction is only partly recognised within the party.<ref name="Zus"/> The BfV classified the group as "orthodox communist" and extremist in its 2018 report, and reported that it had 400 members.<ref name="BfV2018"/> The Marxist Forum did not appear in the BfV's 2020 report.<ref name="BfV2020"/>
|-
| '''Reform Left Network'''<br />''{{small|Netzwerk Reformlinke}}''
| Originally formed in 2003 as a tendency within PDS promoting [[social democracy]].<ref name="reformlinke">{{cite web|url=http://archiv2007.sozialisten.de/partei/strukturen/agigs/netzwerk_reformlinke/index.htm|title=Netzwerk Reformlinke|publisher=sozialisten.de|access-date=25 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226152006/http://archiv2007.sozialisten.de/partei/strukturen/agigs/netzwerk_reformlinke/index.htm|archive-date=26 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> It is closely associated with the Democratic Socialist Forum, which was formed around the same time. The Reform Left Network strongly supports involvement in coalition governments with the SPD and Greens. It includes a number of prominent Left politicians, including Bundestag Vice-President [[Petra Pau]], and Saxony-Anhalt branch leader Wulf Gallert, as well as [[Jan Korte (politician)|Jan Korte]], [[Stefan Liebich]], and [[Halina Wawzyniak]]. As of 2021, the faction is no longer recognised within the party.<ref name="Zus"/>
|-
| '''[[Socialist Left (Germany)|Socialist Left]]'''<br />''{{small|Sozialistische Linke (SL)}}''
| Includes [[Keynesian economics|Keynesian]] leftists and [[Eurocommunism|reform communists]], and seeks to orient the party toward the [[Trade unions in Germany|labour movement]]. It is considered part of the left wing of the party.<ref name="BPBorganisation"/> Many leaders of the Socialist Left were formerly members of WASG, and the group models itself on the Dutch [[Socialist Party (Netherlands)|Socialist Party]] and the Italian [[Communist Refoundation Party]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/parteidemokratie/zusammenschluesse/sozialistische-linke/|title=Socialist Left|access-date=28 October 2021|language=de|website=The Left}}</ref> The revolutionary socialist current [[Linksruck|Marx21]] organises within SL, as it does not meet the requirements to become its own caucus. The BfV classifies the current as an extremist association. In 2020, the group had 1,000 members.<ref name="BfV2020"/> Leading members include [[Janine Wissler]], [[Thomas Händel]], [[Jürgen Klute]], and [[Christine Buchholz]].
|}

In addition to the recognised platforms, a number of smaller groups have aligned with The Left and its predecessors, such as the Trotskyist Socialist Alternative (SAV), though the membership applications of some of its leaders, including [[Lucy Redler]], were initially rejected. ''Der Funke'', supporters of the [[Revolutionary Communist International|International Marxist Tendency]] (IMT) in Germany, pursue [[Entryism|entryist]] strategies in the party, while the [[Fourth International (post-reunification)|Fourth International]]-affiliated [[International Socialist Organisation (Germany)|International Socialist Organisation]] (ISO) also works inside The Left.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Foundation of an International Socialist Organisation (ISO)|url=https://internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article4799|publisher=International Viewpoint|access-date=28 August 2021|date=9 December 2016}}</ref> Other left-wing groups, such as the [[German Communist Party]] (DKP), have formed local alliances with the party, but have not joined. The [[Association for Solidarity Perspectives]] (VsP) also supports the party.

== Membership and electorate ==
{|class="wikitable floatright" style="width:600px"
| {{#chart:Linke membership.chart}}
|}
According to regular studies by the [[Free University of Berlin]], in 2021 The Left's membership comprised 17% blue-collar workers and 32% white-collar workers, similar to the SPD, while 35% were civil servants and 10% self-employed. 51% of party members held an academic degree, and 33% were organized in [[trade union]]s.<ref name="BPBsurvey2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.bpb.de/politik/grundfragen/parteien-in-deutschland/zahlen-und-fakten/140358/soziale-zusammensetzung|title=The social composition of the parties' membership|date=21 October 2022|access-date=18 June 2023|language=de|website=[[Federal Agency for Civic Education]]}}</ref> Prior to the merger with WASG, the voting base of PDS was an approximate cross-section of the population, favoured somewhat by more educated voters. Since the merger, The Left has become more favoured among working-class and poorer voters, which made up the core of WASG's support.<ref name="BPBelectorate"/>

Since the mid-2010s, the party has gained significant popularity among youth. Prior to the merger, PDS had by far the highest proportion of members over 60 years of any party, at 68%, and the lowest proportion of members under 30, at just 4%. By 2021, these numbers had fallen and risen, respectively, to 40% and 23%.<ref name="BPBsurvey2021"/> Two-thirds of members who joined the party between 2016 and 2018 were under 35 years of age. In the 2021 federal election, The Left was twice as popular among voters under 25 than among voters over 70;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-election-results-facts-and-figures/a-59343789|title=Germany's election results: Facts and figures|date=28 September 2021|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> at the 2025 federal election, they were the most popular party among this group, winning 25% of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/deutschland/politik/bundestagswahl-wer-waehlte-wen-100.html|title=Age, education, gender: who voted for whom?|date=24 February 2025|language=de|website=[[Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk]]}}</ref>

The PDS inherited 170,000 members from the SED in 1990, but suffered constant decline from that point until the merger with WASG. Upon its formation, The Left had 71,000 members, of which 11,500 had been WASG members. Over the next two years the party grew, reaching a peak of 78,000 in 2009, after which point numbers began to decline. In 2016, the party had 59,000 members. This trend temporarily reversed following the 2017 federal election, and the party gained several thousand new members for a total of 62,300 in 2019;<ref name="BPBorganisation"/> however, membership shrank again to 60,350 in December 2020.<ref name="membership">{{cite web|url=https://www.die-linke.de/partei/ueber-uns/|title=About Us|access-date=15 April 2021|publisher=The Left}}</ref>

By the end of 2023, membership had fallen to 50,000. The secession of the Wagenknecht wing led to further losses. However, it also triggered an influx of new members: Tagesschau reported in July 2024 that 7,500 new entries had outweighed the losses and brought the total to 52,000. They also noted a generational turnover in the composition of the party: a quarter of its membership had joined in the previous two years, and this cohort disproportionately comprised young people, students, and those in large cities.<ref name="Tagesschau 24-07-16">{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/linkspartei-mitglieder-100.html|title=Increase in membership: Is the Left Party recovering from the Wagenknecht shock?|date=16 July 2024|language=de|website=[[Tagesschau (German TV programme)|Tagesschau]]}}</ref> By the national party conference on 18 January 2025, the party counted 60,060 members. They made further rapid gains during the [[2025 German federal election|subsequent election campaign]]: following the CDU's acceptance of AfD support for its immigration bills, The Left reported a total of 71,277 members on 3 February, the highest number since 2010.<ref name="Zeit-20250203">{{cite web|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2025-02/die-linke-mitglieder-partei-neueintritte|title=The Left and the Greens gain numerous new members in a short time|date=3 February 2025|language=de|website=[[Die Zeit]]}}</ref> By 11 February they had surpassed their all-time peak with 81,200 members.<ref name="Tagesschau 11-02-25">{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/bundestagswahl/linke-parteimitglieder-100.html|title=Left reports record membership|date=11 February 2025|lang=de|website=[[Tagesschau (German TV programme)|Tagesschau]]}}</ref> Shortly after the election, the ''[[Frankfurter Rundschau]]'' reported that the party had broken 100,000 members.<ref name="FR 27-02-25">{{cite web|url=https://www.fr.de/politik/wie-afd-boom-linke-partei-fast-doppelt-viele-mitglieder-93593090.html|title=The Left is booming: Party now has almost twice as many members as the AfD|date=27 February 2025|language=de|website=[[Frankfurter Rundschau]]}}</ref>

By the middle of the year, The Left had grown to 115,000 members. 60% of new entries were under 35 and were largely female, bringing the proportion of women among the membership up from 40% to 44.5%.<ref name="Welt-22-06-25">{{cite web|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article256288236/die-linke-verdoppelt-mitgliederzahl-und-zieht-vor-allem-frauen-an.html|title=Membership doubled – The Left attracts mainly women|date=22 June 2025|language=de|website=[[Die Welt]]}}</ref>

=== Geography ===
[[File:Karte btw linke17z endg.svg|thumb|Results for the second votes by constituency in the 2017 federal election]]
A large part of The Left's base and membership reside in the [[New states of Germany|new states]] (the former GDR). The voting base of the PDS was limited almost entirely to the east; upon its formation, the vast majority of The Left's western membership came from WASG. However, the party has grown in the west in the years since: while in [[2005 German federal election|2005]], the Left.PDS list won just 45.5% of its votes in the western states, this grew to 57.7% in [[2009 German federal election|2009]], and 65.4% in [[2017 German federal election|2017]]. In 2025, they won 74.3% of votes in the west. (The west comprises around 85% of the German population and this percentage has been increasing steadily since 1989.) Between 2016 and 2018, 72% of new party members were from the western states, 15% from the east, and 13% from Berlin. During this period, the party's membership total in the west exceeded that of the east for the first time.<ref name="ND2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/1090472.mitgliederentwicklung-der-linkspartei-die-linke-wird-juenger-und-westdeutscher.html|title=The Left is getting younger and more West German|date=7 June 2018|language=de|website=[[Neues Deutschland]]}}</ref> As of 2021, 50% of The Left's members are from the west, 37% from the east, and 13% from Berlin.<ref name="branchmem"/> Amid the membership surge in 2025, western branches benefited most, with the Bavarian and Schleswig-Holstein associations more than doubling their membership, while eastern branches grew by one-third.<ref name="Welt-22-06-25"/>

Despite this, on the state level, the party has been marginalised in the west since making several breakthroughs in 2007–2010. Since 2010, it has lost representation in the Landtags of [[Lower Saxony]], [[North Rhine-Westphalia]], and [[Schleswig-Holstein]]. Generally growing popularity in the west has also been offset by major losses in most of its eastern heartland since 2014.<ref name="BPBelectorate">{{cite web|url=https://www.bpb.de/themen/FB25SL,0,DIE_LINKE_%96_W%E4hlerschaft_und_Mitglieder.html|title=Election results and electorate of the LEFT|date=16 July 2018|language=de|website=[[Federal Agency for Civic Education]]}}</ref>

The Left's voter demographics are skewed strongly by region. In the east, Left voters and members trend much older: in 2018, 44% of the party's members in [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]] were 76 years or older.<ref name="ND2018"/> Meanwhile, in the west, the party membership is male-dominated, with two-thirds of western members being men.<ref name="BPBelectorate"/><ref name="branchmem"/>

=== Women ===
Women have been well-represented amongst elected representatives from The Left. The party's [[Women in government#Quotas|gender quota]] requires that at least half of the party's ruling bodies and representatives should be female. In 2021, the party elected two women, Janine Wissler and Susanne Hennig-Wellsow, as federal co-chairs for the first time. Female membership in the PDS was stable at around 45% during the 1990s and 2000s, far higher than any other party,<ref name="BPBsurvey2021"/> but fell to 39% post-merger in 2007 since the large majority of WASG members were male.<ref name="BPBorganisation"/> Nonetheless, the party had the highest representation of women in its membership until it was overtaken by the Greens in 2012. In 2021, 37% of Left members were female, compared to 42% for the Greens and 33% for the SPD.<ref name="BPBsurvey2021"/> By June 2025, a surge in female membership saw the proportion of women rise to 44.5%, the highest of any party.<ref name="Welt-22-06-25"/>

After the 2009 election, the party's Bundestag group was 52.6% female, second only to the Greens (57.4%). In 2013, this increased slightly to 54.7%, which was the highest of any group.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundestag.de/bundestag/abgeordnete18/mdb_zahlen/frauen_maenner/260128|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415191337/https://www.bundestag.de/bundestag/abgeordnete18/mdb_zahlen/frauen_maenner/260128|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 April 2016|title=German Bundestag – women and men|date=September 2015|publisher=German Bundestag}}</ref> After both the 2017 and 2021 federal elections, The Left's group was 54% female, second to the Greens (58%).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundestag.de/abgeordnete/biografien/mdb_zahlen_19/frauen_maenner-529508|title=German Bundestag – women and men|date=July 2019|publisher=German Bundestag}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/opinion-the-bundestag-could-use-more-women/a-59374736|title=Opinion: The Bundestag could use more women|date=2 October 2021|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref>

== Controversies ==
=== Observation by Constitutional Protection ===
The [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution]] (''Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz'', abbreviated as BfV or ''Verfassungsschutz'') is the German federal domestic [[security agency]], tasked with intelligence-gathering on threats concerning the democratic order, the existence and security of the federation or one of its states. This includes monitoring and reporting on suspected [[Extremism|extremist]] groups and political parties. As of 2013, the ''Verfassungsschutz'' did not regard the party as extremist or a threat to democracy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.verfassungsschutz.niedersachsen.de/extremismus/linksextremismus/linksextremistische_parteien/offen-extremistische-zusammenschluesse-in-der-partei-die-linke-126453.html|title=Offen extremistische Zusammenschlüsse in der Partei DIE LINKE. &#124; Verfassungsschutz Niedersachsen|website=www.verfassungsschutz.niedersachsen.de |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160903223106/https://www.verfassungsschutz.niedersachsen.de/extremismus/linksextremismus/linksextremistische_parteien/offen-extremistische-zusammenschluesse-in-der-partei-die-linke-126453.html |archive-date=3 September 2016}}</ref> but party members and groups within the party have been periodically monitored, sometimes leading to controversy. According to the 2018 report, radical factions are the [[Communist Platform (Germany)|Communist Platform]], [[Socialist Left (Germany)|Socialist Left]], [[working group]] ''AG Cuba Sí'', the Anti-capitalist Left, Marxist Forum, and Gera Dialogue/Socialist Dialogue. The ''Verfassungsschutz'' also monitors Socialist Alternative and Marx21, which have links with the Anti-Capitalist Left and the Socialist Left, respectively.<ref>[http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/ Verfassungsschutzbericht reports] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220215742/http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/ |date=20 February 2008 }}, 2007–2015, [[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution|Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz]]</ref><ref name="BfV2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.bmi.bund.de/SharedDocs/downloads/DE/publikationen/themen/sicherheit/vsb-2018-gesamt.html|title=Verfassungsschutzbericht 2018|date=26 June 2019|publisher=[[Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution]]}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=January 2023}}

The 2007 ''Verfassungsschutz'' report commented that in practice the parliamentary party appears as to act as a "reform-oriented" left force.<ref>''[http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/SHOW/vsbericht_2007.pdf Verfassungsschutzbericht 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920151144/http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/SHOW/vsbericht_2007.pdf |date=20 September 2008 }}'', Federal Ministry of the Interior.</ref>{{primary source inline|date=January 2023}} In the past, The Left was under observation by all western German states. In January 2008, Saarland became the first to cease observation.<ref name="welt.de" /> As of 2008, the authorities of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, and Lower Saxony considered The Left in its entirety to be extremist.<ref>[https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/linkeverfassungsschutz2.html Die Linke – keine Gefährdung für die Verfassung], tagesschau.de, 16. January 2008, accessed 16 March 2008</ref> In the five eastern states, The Left is not under surveillance, as state constitutional authorities see no indication of anti-constitutional tendencies in the bulk of the party; however, the Communist Platform is under observation in three eastern states.<ref name="Netzeitung-Juni">[http://www.netzeitung.de/deutschland/675695.html Neue Linke verunsichert Verfassungsschützer] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122182355/http://www.netzeitung.de/deutschland/675695.html |date=22 January 2009 }}, netzeitung.de, 18 June 2007, accessed 16 March 2008</ref>

Surveillance of party members has been a point of controversy. [[Bodo Ramelow]], a prominent Left politician in Thuringia, was under surveillance until a court ruling in January 2008 that this was illegal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.justiz.nrw.de/nrwe/ovgs/vg_koeln/j2007/20_K_3077_06urteil20071213.html |title=Aktenzeichen: 20 K 3077/06, 20 K 6242/03 |publisher=Justiz.nrw.de |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=January 2023}}<ref name="welt.de">[https://www.welt.de/politik/article1562539/Beobachtung_von_Ramelow_ist_verboten.html Beobachtung von Linkspartei-Politiker verboten], Welt Online, 17 January 2008, accessed 16 March 2008</ref> In January 2012, {{Lang|de|[[Der Spiegel]]}} reported that 27 of the party's 76 Bundestag members were under surveillance, as well as 11 of the party's members of various state parliaments. This included nearly the entirety of the party's Bundestag leadership, federal co-leader [[Gesine Lötzsch]], deputy leader [[Halina Wawzyniak]], and [[Presidium of the Bundestag|Vice President of the Bundestag]] [[Petra Pau]]. Many of those under surveillance were not associated with acknowledged extremist factions of the party.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/alexander-dobrindt-csu-generalsekretaer-bringt-verbot-der-linken-ins-spiel/6126392.html |title=Alexander Dobrindt: CSU-Generalsekretär bringt Verbot der Linken ins Spiel |language=de |website=Handelsblatt |date=30 January 2012 |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref><ref>[http://de.euronews.com/agenturmeldungen/1341447-verfassungsschutz-beobachtet-umfangreich-die-linke/]{{dead link|date=June 2012}}</ref> This surveillance was criticised by the SPD, Greens, and FDP; federal Justice Minister [[Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger]] described it as "intolerable".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/geheimdienst-verfassungsschutz-beobachtet-27-linken-abgeordnete-a-810651.html|title=Verfassungsschutz beobachtet 27 Linken-Abgeordnete|date=22 January 2012|website=Der Spiegel}}</ref> In October 2013, the [[Federal Constitutional Court]] deemed the surveillance of Bundestag members unconstitutional except in extraordinary circumstances, such as if the member was abusing their office to undermine the constitutional order, or otherwise actively fighting against it.<ref name="tagesspiegel">{{cite news|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/innenministerium-prueft-konsequenzen-ueberwachung-von-ramelow-verfassungswidrig/8906370.html|title=Bundesverfassungsgericht verbietet Überwachung von Bodo Ramelow|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online|date=9 October 2013|publisher=tagesspiegel.de|access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> Federal Minister of the Interior [[Thomas de Maizière]] subsequently announced that none of The Left's Bundestag members would be surveilled, even those affiliated with the factions considered extremist by the ''Verfassungsschutz''.<ref name="tagesschau">{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/linkspartei-verfassungsschutz100.html|title=Verfassungsschutz reagiert auf Urteil: Linken-Abgeordnete ohne Beobachtung – tagesschau.de|publisher=tagesschau.de|access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref>

=== Extremism and populism ===
Both media and political scientists have discussed whether The Left should be considered extremist in nature.<ref name="Eckhard Jesse: Die Linke,">See, for example, Frank Decker, Viola Neu: ''Handbuch der deutschen Parteien,'' VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2007, p. 323 ff.; Eckhard Jesse, Jürgen P. Lang: ''Die Linke – der smarte Extremismus einer deutschen Partei.'' Olzog Verlag, Munich 2008; for the past history of PDS: Steffen Kailitz: ''Politischer Extremismus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'', Wiesbaden 2004, p. 82 ff. and for suspicion of extremism in the party as a whole: [http://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/linksextremismus/158721/die-linke-meinungsbeitrag-von-eckhard-jesse Eckhard Jesse: ''Die Linke''], and a rebuke: [http://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/linksextremismus/156715/die-linke-meinungsbeitrag-von-richard-stoess Richard Stöss: ''Die Linke. Zur Beobachtung der Partei durch den Verfassungsschutz.'']</ref> Journalists from outlets including the [[BBC]],<ref name="BBC-5-11-14">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30342441|title=Die Linke triumph: Mixed reaction as German far-left gains power|date=5 December 2014|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'',<ref name="Guardian-18-09-09">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/17/german-elections-die-linke-party|title=Die Linke party wins German votes by standing out from crowd|last=Connolly|first=Kate|date=18 September 2009|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> [[Euronews]],<ref name="Euronews-20-11-14">{{cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2014/11/20/far-left-die-linke-take-charge-of-german-region|title=Far-left Die Linke take charge of German region|date=20 November 2014|publisher=[[Euronews]]}}</ref> and {{Lang|de|[[Der Spiegel]]}}<ref name="Spiegel-19-09-13">{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-left-party-strong-but-shunned-by-mainstream-a-922870.html|title=German Left Party a Would-Be Kingmaker|date=19 September 2013|website=[[Der Spiegel]]}}</ref> have described the party as [[Far-left politics|far-left]], while other journalists writing for the same publications (minus {{lang|de|Der Spiegel}}) have referred to the party as left-wing.<ref>{{cite news |date= 4 January 2019 |title= German politicians targeted in mass data attack |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46757009.amp |work= BBC News |access-date= 7 December 2023 |quote= The main parliamentary groups including the ruling centre-right and centre-left parties, as well as The Greens, left-wing Die Linke and FDP.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Oltermann |first= Philip |date= 15 May 2023 |title= German Greens suffer setback in Bremen local election |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/15/german-greens-suffer-setback-in-bremen-local-election |work= The Guardian |access-date= 7 December 2023 |quote= This gives the centre-left the option to either continue governing with the Greens and the left-wing Die Linke, or form a "grand coalition" with the second-placed conservatives.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= Sandford |first= Alasdair |date= 5 February 2020 |title= German state governor steps down after winning election with far-right help  |url= https://www.euronews.com/2020/02/05/german-politics-shaken-as-far-right-afd-becomes-kingmaker-in-eastern-state |work= Euronews |access-date= 7 December 2023 |quote= Early rounds of voting in the parliament led to expectations that the left-wing Die Linke party would stay in office as head of a "red-red-green" coalition.}}</ref> Among academics, there is a general consensus that at least some sections of the party are extremist; however, political scientist [[Richard Stöss]] states that they make up less than ten percent of the party membership – 5,000 of 62,000 members according to the BfV – and compete for resources among themselves, and there is little risk of these groups becoming dominant and exerting major influence over the party's leadership and platform.<ref>Richard Stöss: [http://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/linksextremismus/156715/die-linke-meinungsbeitrag-von-richard-stoess ''Die Linke. Zur Beobachtung der Partei durch den Verfassungsschutz.'']</ref> [[Eckhard Jesse]] states that, while The Left is far more accepting of the Basic Law than parties like the [[National Democratic Party of Germany]], the presence of its extremist factions means the party overall represents a "soft left-wing extremism".<ref>Eckhard Jesse: [http://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/linksextremismus/158721/die-linke-meinungsbeitrag-von-eckhard-jesse ''Die Linke'']</ref> Political scientist [[Karl-Rudolf Korte]] states that the party is well-integrated within the constitutional order, and "has actually rendered considerable services to German democracy" through the integration of East German protest movement into the parliamentary system. Nonetheless, he criticises the party's continued association with extremist groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/gohlke-linke-afd-verfassungsschutz-1.4795496|title=Left Party: 'I wonder what threat the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is hallucinating'|date=12 February 2020|language=de|website=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]}}</ref>

The Left has also been characterised as [[Left-wing populism|left-wing populist]]<ref name="keating">{{cite book|editor1=Michael Keating |editor2=David McCrone|title=The Crisis of Social Democracy in Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJskDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|year=2013|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-6582-2|page=147}}</ref> by researchers such as [[Cas Mudde]]<ref>[[Cas Mudde]]: [http://www.bpb.de/apuz/30843/radikale-parteien-in-europa?p=all ''Radical Parties in Europe'']. In: ''From Politics and Contemporary History'' 45 (2008) 47, p. 12–18.</ref> and Tilman Mayer.<ref>Tilman Mayer: ''Left-wing populism as a challenge. For the demagogical siphoning of resentments''. In: ''The Political Opinion'', Nr. 465, August 2008, pp. 15–18, here: p. 15, 17 ([http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_14310-544-1-30.pdf PDF]).</ref> Florian Hartleb states that the party is "social-populist".<ref>Florian Hartleb: ''Populism – a central characteristic of party politics in turbulent times?''. In: Friso Wielanga, Florian Hartleb (ed.): ''Populism in modern democracy. The Netherlands and Germany in comparison''. Waxmann, Münster u. a. 2011, {{ISBN|978-3-8309-2444-9}}, pp. 105–127, here: p. 117.</ref> According to Frank Decker, the party during the leadership of Oskar Lafontaine could be described as left-wing populist.<ref>Frank Decker: ''From a protest phenomenon to a permanent political phenomenon: right-wing and left-wing populism in Western Europe''. In: Uwe Backes, Alexander Gallus, Eckhard Jesse (ed.): ''Jahrbuch Extremismus & Demokratie'', 27th year (2015), Nomos, Baden-Baden 2015, {{ISBN|978-3-8487-2522-9}}, pp. 57–72, here: p. 59.</ref> In 2011, Bundestag deputy and later party co-leader Katja Kipping stated that she believed The Left needed "a double strategy [of] social-ecological restructuring plus left-wing populism" to become attractive to voters. She elaborated: "Left-wing populism means targeting those who are marginalized in our society in a targeted and pointed manner."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/linken-vize-katja-kipping-im-interview-wir-muessen-uns-der-gruenen-herausforderung-stellen/4070954.html|title=We have to face the green challenge|date=18 April 2011|website=[[Der Tagesspiegel]]}}</ref>

=== Association with the SED ===
The Left's position as the successor of the PDS and SED has made it subject to significant controversy and criticism, as well as claims that the party is sympathetic to the former GDR.<ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,650626,00.html Verdrängte Parteigeschichte: Plädoyer für eine Entzauberung der Linkspartei], spiegel.de, 25 September 2009, accessed 25 September 2009</ref> Former member [[Sahra Wagenknecht]], who served as co-leader of the party's Bundestag group from 2015 to 2019, is well known for her controversial statements on this issue. In a 2009 interview, she rejected the characterisation of East Germany as a dictatorship or unconstitutional state ({{langx|de|[[Unrechtsstaat]]}}).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/article3954333/Sahra-Wagenknecht-verspottet-neoliberale-SPD.html|title=Sahra Wagenknecht mocks "neoliberal SPD"|date=19 June 2009|newspaper=[[Die Welt]]|last1=Hollstein|first1=Miriam}}</ref>

Other incidents include a walkout conducted in 2007 by the Left's delegation in the [[Landtag of Saxony]] during a [[German Unity Day]] ceremony<ref>{{cite web|author=Sächsischer Landtag |url=http://www.landtag.sachsen.de/de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/1378_3646.aspx |title=Sächsischer Landtag feiert Tag der Deutschen Einheit – Festredner Joachim Gauck: "Freiheit wagen – Verantwortung leben" |publisher=Landtag.sachsen.de |date=13 April 2012 |access-date=3 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303151803/http://www.landtag.sachsen.de/de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/1378_3646.aspx |archive-date=3 March 2012 }}</ref> in protest of the presence of [[Joachim Gauck]], former East German pro-democracy campaigner and later [[Stasi Records Agency|Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records]], who was the keynote speaker at the event.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bild.de/BILD/politik/2010/06/05/wulff-und-gauck-im-interview/kandidat-joachim-gauck/linke/warum-die-linke-gauck-nicht-waehlt.html |title=Kandidaten für das Amt des Bundespräsidenten: Warum "Die Linke" Joachim Gauck nicht wählt |language=de |publisher=Bild.de |date=4 June 2010 |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref> The Left's state leader André Hahn claimed that Gauck did not deliver an "appropriate or balanced speech", arguing he had "an absolutely one-sided view of the GDR."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/sachsen-linke-boykottiert-einheitsfeier-wegen-gauck-rede/1054930.html|title=Left boycotts unity celebration over Gauck speech|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online|date=27 September 2007}}</ref>

== Election results ==
=== Federal Parliament (''Bundestag'') ===
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan=2| Election
! colspan=2| Constituency
! colspan=2| Party list
! rowspan=2| Seats
! rowspan=2| +/–
! rowspan=2| Status
|-
! Votes
! %
! Votes
! %
|-
! [[2009 German federal election|2009]]
| 4,791,124
| 11.1 (#3)
| 5,155,933
| 11.9 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|76|622|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 22
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2013 German federal election|2013]]
| 3,585,178
| 8.2 (#3)
| 3,755,699
| 8.6 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|64|631|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 12
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2017 German federal election|2017]]
| 3,966,035
| 8.6 (#4)
| 4,296,762
| 9.2 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|69|709|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 5
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2021 German federal election|2021]]
| 2,306,755
| 5.0 (#7)
| 2,269,993
| 4.9 (#7)
| {{Composition bar|39|735|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 30
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[2025 German federal election|2025]]
| 3,932,584
| 7.9 (#5)
| 4,355,382
| 8.8 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|64|630|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 36
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|}

=== European Parliament ===
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:center;"
|-
! Election
! List leader
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! EP Group
|-
! [[2009 European Parliament election in Germany|2009]]
| [[Lothar Bisky]]
| 1,968,325
| 7.48 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|8|99|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| New
| rowspan=4 | [[The Left in the European Parliament - GUE/NGL|The Left - GUE/NGL]]
|-
! [[2014 European Parliament election in Germany|2014]]
| [[Gabi Zimmer]]
| 2,167,641
| 7.39 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|7|96|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
! [[2019 European Parliament election in Germany|2019]]
| rowspan=2 | [[Martin Schirdewan]]
| 2,056,010
| 5.50 (#5)
| {{Composition bar|5|96|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2 
|-
! [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|2024]]
| 1,091,268
| 2.74 (#8)
| {{Composition bar|3|96|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|}

=== State Parliaments (''Länder'') ===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:center;"
|-
! class=unsortable | State parliament
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/–
! Status
|-
! [[Landtag of Baden-Württemberg|Baden-Württemberg]]
| align=center| [[2021 Baden-Württemberg state election|2021]]
| 173,295
| 3.6 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|0|154|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
|-
! [[Landtag of Bavaria|Bavaria]]
| align=center| [[2023 Bavarian state election|2023]]
| 200,795
| 1.5 (#7)
| {{Composition bar|0|203|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
|-
! [[Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin|Berlin]]
| align=center| [[2023 Berlin state election|2023]]
| 184,954
| 12.2 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|22|147|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[Landtag of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]]
| align=center| [[2024 Brandenburg state election|2024]]
| 44,692
| 3.0 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|0|88|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 10
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| {{nowrap|No seats}}
|-
! [[Bürgerschaft of Bremen|Bremen]]
| align=center| [[2023 Bremen state election|2023]]
| 137,676
| {{nowrap|10.9 (#4)}}
| {{Composition bar|10|87|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| {{yes2|SPD–Greens–Left}}
|-
! [[Hamburg Parliament|Hamburg]]
| align=center| [[2025 Hamburg state election|2025]]
| 487,729
| 11.2 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|15|123|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 2
| {{TBA}}
|-
! [[Landtag of Hesse|Hesse]]
| align=center| [[2023 Hessian state election|2023]]
| 86,821
| 3.1 (#7)
| {{Composition bar|0|133|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 9
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| {{nowrap|No seats}}
|-
! [[Landtag of Lower Saxony|Lower Saxony]]
| align=center| [[2022 Lower Saxony state election|2022]]
| 98,585
| 2.7 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|0|146|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0 
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| {{nowrap|No seats}}
|-
! [[Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|{{nowrap|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}]]
| align=center| [[2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|2021]]
| 90,865
| 9.9 (#4)
| {{Composition bar|9|79|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
| {{yes2|SPD–Left}}
|-
! [[Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia|{{nowrap|North Rhine-Westphalia}}]]
| align=center| [[2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2022]]
| 146,634
| 2.1 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|0|195|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
|-
! [[Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate|Rhineland-Palatinate]]
| align=center| [[2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|2021]]
| 48,210	
| 2.5 (#7)
| {{Composition bar|0|101|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
|-
! [[Landtag of Saarland|Saarland]]
| align=center| [[2022 Saarland state election|2022]]
| 11,689
| 2.6 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|0|51|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 7
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
|-
! [[Landtag of Saxony|Saxony]]
| align=center| [[2024 Saxony state election|2024]]
| 104,888
| 4.5 (#6)
| {{Composition bar|6|119|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{nowrap|{{decrease}} 8}}
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt|Saxony-Anhalt]]
| align=center| [[2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election|2021]]
| 116,927
| 11.0 (#3)
| {{Composition bar|12|97|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 4
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
! [[Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig-Holstein]]
| align=center| [[2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election|2022]]
| 23,035
| 1.7 (#7)
| {{Composition bar|0|69|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
|-
! [[Landtag of Thuringia|Thuringia]]
| align=center| [[2024 Thuringian state election|2024]]
| 157,641
| 13.1 (#4) 
| {{Composition bar|12|88|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 17
| {{no2|Opposition}}
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+'''Best historic results for state parties'''
!State
!Seats / Total
! %
!Position/Gov.
!Year
!Lead candidate
|-
| [[Landtag of Baden-Württemberg|Baden-Württemberg]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|154|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 3.6 (#6)
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2021 Baden-Württemberg state election|2021]]
| Sahra Mirow
|-
| [[Landtag of Bavaria|Bavaria]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|187|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 4.4 (#6)
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2008 Bavarian state election|2008]]
| Fritz Schmalzbauer
|-
| [[Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin|Berlin]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|33|141|hex={{party color|Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)}}}}
| 22.6 (#3)
| {{yes2|SPD–PDS}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2001 Berlin state election|2001]]<br />{{small|(as [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]])}}
| [[Gregor Gysi]] (Deputy Governing Mayor 2002)
|-
| [[Landtag of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|26|88|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 27.2 (#2)
| {{yes2|SPD–The Left}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2009 Brandenburg state election|2009]]
| [[Kerstin Kaiser]]
|-
| [[Bürgerschaft of Bremen|Bremen]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|10|84|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 11.3 (#4)
| {{yes2|SPD–Greens–Left}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2019 Bremen state election|2019]]
| Kristina Vogt
|-
| [[Hamburg Parliament|Hamburg]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|15|121|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 11.2 (#4)
|
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2025 Hamburg state election|2025]]
| [[Cansu Özdemir]]
|-
| [[Landtag of Hesse|Hesse]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|9|137|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 6.3 (#6)
| {{no2|Opposition}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2018 Hessian state election|2018]]
| [[Janine Wissler]]<br />[[Jan Schalauske]]
|-
| [[Landtag of Lower Saxony|Lower Saxony]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|11|152|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 7.1 (#5)
| {{no2|Opposition}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2008 Lower Saxony state election|2008]]
| Kreszentia Flauger
|-
| [[Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|{{nowrap|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|20|71|hex={{party color|Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)}}}}
| 24.4 (#3)
| {{yes2|SPD–PDS}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[1998 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|1998]]<br />{{small|(as [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]])}}
| [[Helmut Holter]] (Deputy Minister-President 1998–2002)
|-
| [[Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia|{{nowrap|North Rhine-Westphalia}}]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|11|181|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 5.6 (#5)
| {{no2|Opposition}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2010 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2010]]
| [[Bärbel Beuermann]]
|-
| [[Landtag of Rhineland-Palatinate|Rhineland-Palatinate]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|101|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 3.0 (#5)
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2011 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|2011]]
| Robert Drumm<br />Tanja Krauth
|-
| [[Landtag of Saarland|Saarland]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|11|51|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 21.3 (#3)
| {{no|Opposition Leader}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2009 Saarland state election|2009]]
| [[Oskar Lafontaine]]
|-
| [[Landtag of Saxony|Saxony]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|31|124|hex={{party color|Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)}}}}
| 23.6 (#2)
| {{no|Opposition Leader}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2004 Saxony state election|2004]]<br />{{small|(as [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]])}}
| [[Peter Porsch]]
|-
| [[Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt|Saxony-Anhalt]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|25|116|hex={{party color|Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)}}}}
| 19.6 (#3)
| {{partial|SPD minority}}<br /><small>''with PDS confidence and supply''</small>
| style="text-align:center;"| [[1998 Saxony-Anhalt state election|1998]]<br />{{small|(as [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]])}}
| [[Petra Sitte]]
|-
| [[Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein|Schleswig-Holstein]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|6|95|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 6.0 (#5)
| {{no2|Opposition}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2009 Schleswig-Holstein state election|2009]]
| Antje Jansen
|-
| [[Landtag of Thuringia|Thuringia]]
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|29|90|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| 31.0 (#1)
| {{yes|Left–SPD–Greens minority}}
| style="text-align:center;"| [[2019 Thuringian state election|2019]]
| [[Bodo Ramelow]] (Minister-President 2014–2020, 2020–2024)
|}

==== State results timeline ====
{{hidden begin
|title = State parliaments
|titlestyle = background:lightgrey; text-align:center;
}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Baden-Württemberg'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2011 Baden-Württemberg state election|2011]]'''
| 139,700
| 2.8
| {{Composition bar|0|138|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2016 Baden-Württemberg state election|2016]]'''
| 156,211
| 2.9
| {{Composition bar|0|138|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2021 Baden-Württemberg state election|2021]]'''
| 173,317
| 3.6
| {{Composition bar|0|138|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|}
{{col-2}}

'''Bavaria'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2008 Bavaria state election|2008]]'''
| 461,755
| 4.4
| {{Composition bar|0|187|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2013 Bavaria state election|2013]]'''
| 251,097
| 2.1
| {{Composition bar|0|180|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2018 Bavaria state election|2018]]'''
| 435,949
| 3.2
| {{Composition bar|0|205|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2023 Bavaria state election|2023]]'''
| 200,878
| 1.5
| {{Composition bar|0|203|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Berlin'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2006 Berlin state election|2006]]'''
| 225,689
| 16.3
| {{Composition bar|23|141|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 10
|-
! '''[[2011 Berlin state election|2011]]'''
| 170,829
| 11.6
| {{Composition bar|20|152|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 3
|-
! '''[[2016 Berlin state election|2016]]'''
| 255,740
| 15.6
| {{Composition bar|27|160|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 7
|-
! '''[[2021 Berlin state election|2021]]'''
| 255,231
| 14.0
| {{Composition bar|26|160|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 1
|}
{{col-2}}

'''Brandenburg'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2009 Brandenburg state election|2009]]'''
| 377,084
| 27.2
| {{Composition bar|26|88|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 3
|-
! '''[[2014 Brandenburg state election|2014]]'''
| 183,172
| 18.6
| {{Composition bar|17|88|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 9
|-
! '''[[2019 Brandenburg state election|2019]]'''
| 135,572
| 10.7
| {{Composition bar|10|88|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 7
|-
! '''[[2024 Brandenburg state election|2024]]'''
| 44,692
| 3.0
| {{Composition bar|0|88|hex={{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 10
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Bremen'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2007 Bremen state election|2007]]'''
| 23,282
| 8.4
| {{Composition bar|7|83|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 7
|-
! '''[[2011 Bremen state election|2011]]'''
| 73,769
| 5.6
| {{Composition bar|5|83|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
! '''[[2015 Bremen state election|2015]]'''
| 115,385
| 9.5
| {{Composition bar|8|83|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 3
|-
! '''[[2019 Bremen state election|2019]]'''
| 166,378
| 11.3
| {{Composition bar|10|84|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 2
|-
! '''[[2023 Bremen state election|2023]]'''
| 137,676
| 10.9
| {{Composition bar|10|84|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|}
{{col-2}}

'''Hamburg'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2008 Hamburg state election|2008]]'''
| 50,173
| 6.4
| {{Composition bar|8|121|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 8
|-
! '''[[2011 Hamburg state election|2011]]'''
| 220,428*
| 6.4
| {{Composition bar|8|121|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2015 Hamburg state election|2015]]'''
| 300,567*
| 8.5
| {{Composition bar|11|121|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 3
|-
! '''[[2020 Hamburg state election|2020]]'''
| 364,102*
| 9.1
| {{Composition bar|12|121|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
|-
| colspan=5 | <small>''*) five votes per voter''</small>
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Hesse'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2008 Hessian state election|2008]]'''
| 140,769
| 5.1
| {{Composition bar|6|110|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 6
|-
! '''[[2009 Hessian state election|2009]]'''
| 139,074
| 5.4
| {{Composition bar|6|118|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2013 Hessian state election|2013]]'''
| 161,488
| 5.2
| {{Composition bar|6|110|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2018 Hessian state election|2018]]'''
| 181,263
| 6.3
| {{Composition bar|9|137|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 3
|-
! '''[[2023 Hessian state election|2023]]'''
| 86,842
| 3.1
| {{Composition bar|0|133|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 9
|}
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'''Mecklenburg-Vorpommern'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2006 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|2006]]'''
| 141,534
| 17.3
| {{Composition bar|13|71|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2011 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|2011]]'''
| 125,528
| 18.4
| {{Composition bar|14|71|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
|-
! '''[[2016 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|2016]]'''
| 106,259
| 13.2
| {{Composition bar|11|71|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 3
|-
! '''[[2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|2021]]'''
| 90,865
| 9.9
| {{Composition bar|9|79|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|}
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{{col-end}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Lower Saxony'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2008 Lower Saxony state election|2008]]'''
| 243,361
| 7.1
| {{Composition bar|11|152|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 11
|-
! '''[[2013 Lower Saxony state election|2013]]'''
|110,525
| 3.1
| {{Composition bar|0|137|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 11
|-
! '''[[2017 Lower Saxony state election|2017]]'''
| 177,118 
| 4.6
| {{Composition bar|0|137|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2022 Lower Saxony state election|2022]]'''
| 98,585 
| 2.7
| {{Composition bar|0|146|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|}
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'''North Rhine-Westphalia'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2005 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2005]]'''
| 254,977
| 3.1
| {{Composition bar|0|187|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2010 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2010]]'''
| 435,627
| 5.6
| {{Composition bar|11|181|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 11
|-
! '''[[2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2012]]'''
| 194,428
| 2.5
| {{Composition bar|0|237|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 11
|-
! '''[[2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2017]]'''
| 415,936
| 4.9
| {{Composition bar|0|199|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2022]]'''
| 146,634
| 2.1
| {{Composition bar|0|195|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|}
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{{col-end}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Rhineland-Palatinate'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2006 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|2006]]'''
| 44,826
| 2.6
| {{Composition bar|0|101|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2011 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|2011]]'''
| 56,054
| 3.0
| {{Composition bar|0|101|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2016 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|2016]]'''
| 60,074
| 2.8
| {{Composition bar|0|138|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|2021]]'''
| 48,210
| 2.5
| {{Composition bar|0|138|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|}
{{col-2}}

'''Saarland'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2009 Saarland state election|2009]]'''
| 113,660
| 21.5
| {{Composition bar|11|51|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 11
|-
! '''[[2012 Saarland state election|2012]]'''
| 77,612
| 16.1
| {{Composition bar|9|51|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
! '''[[2017 Saarland state election|2017]]'''
| 68,566
| 12.9
| {{Composition bar|7|51|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
! '''[[2022 Saarland state election|2022]]'''
| 11,689
| 2.6
| {{Composition bar|0|51|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 7
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Saxony'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2009 Saxony state election|2009]]'''
| 370,359
| 20.6
| {{Composition bar|29|132|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
! '''[[2014 Saxony state election|2014]]'''
| 309,568
| 18.9
| {{Composition bar|27|126|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 2
|-
! '''[[2019 Saxony state election|2019]]'''
| 224,411
| 10.4
| {{Composition bar|14|119|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 13
|-
! '''[[2024 Saxony state election|2024]]'''
| 104,891
| 4.5
| {{Composition bar|6|120|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 8
|}
{{col-2}}

'''Saxony-Anhalt'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2006 Saxony-Anhalt state election|2006]]'''
| 217,295
| 24.1
| {{Composition bar|26|97|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
|-
! '''[[2011 Saxony-Anhalt state election|2011]]'''
| 235,011
| 23.7
| {{Composition bar|29|105|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 3
|-
! '''[[2016 Saxony-Anhalt state election|2016]]'''
| 183,296
| 16.3
| {{Composition bar|16|87|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 13
|-
! '''[[2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election|2021]]'''
| 116,927
| 11.0
| {{Composition bar|12|97|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 4
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}

'''Schleswig-Holstein'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2009 Schleswig-Holstein state election|2009]]'''
| 95,764
| 6.0
| {{Composition bar|6|95|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 6
|-
! '''[[2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election|2012]]'''
| 29,900
| 2.2
| {{Composition bar|0|69|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 6
|-
! '''[[2017 Schleswig-Holstein state election|2017]]'''
| 56,018
| 3.8
| {{Composition bar|0|73|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|-
! '''[[2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election|2022]]'''
| 23,054
| 1.7
| {{Composition bar|0|69|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{steady}} 0
|}
{{col-2}}

'''Thuringia'''
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
|-
! Election
! Votes
! %
! Seats
! +/−
|-
! '''[[2009 Thuringian state election|2009]]'''
| 288,932
| 27.4
| {{Composition bar|27|88|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 1
|-
! '''[[2014 Thuringian state election|2014]]'''
| 265,425
| 28.2
| {{Composition bar|28|91|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
|-
! '''[[2019 Thuringian state election|2019]]'''
| 343,738
| 31.0
| {{Composition bar|29|90|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{increase}} 1
|-
! '''[[2024 Thuringian state election|2024]]'''
| 157,641
| 13.1
| {{Composition bar|12|88|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}}}
| {{decrease}} 17
|}
{{col-2}}
{{col-end}}
{{hidden end}}

=== Results timeline ===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:80%; text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan=2| Party
! rowspan=2| Year
! colspan=2| {{flagicon|Germany}}<br />[[Germany|DE]]
! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|European Union}}<br />[[European Union|EU]]
! rowspan=2 class="unsortable"| 
! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Baden-Württemberg}}<br />[[Baden-Württemberg|BW]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Bavaria}}<br>[[Bavaria|BY]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Berlin}}<br>[[Berlin|BE]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Brandenburg}}<br>[[Brandenburg|BB]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Bremen}}<br>[[Bremen (state)|HB]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Hamburg}}<br>[[Hamburg|HH]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Hesse}}<br>[[Hesse|HE]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Lower Saxony}}<br>[[Lower Saxony|NI]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}<br>[[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|MV]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|North Rhine-Westphalia}}<br>[[North Rhine-Westphalia|NW]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Rhineland-Palatinate}}<br>[[Rhineland-Palatinate|RP]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Saarland}}<br>[[Saarland|SL]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Saxony}}<br>[[Saxony|SN]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Saxony-Anhalt}}<br>[[Saxony-Anhalt|ST]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Schleswig-Holstein}}<br>[[Schleswig-Holstein|SH]] !! rowspan=2| {{flagicon|Thuringia}}<br>[[Thuringia|TH]]
|-
! {{flagicon|West Germany}}<br>[[West Germany|WD]]
! {{flagicon|East Germany}}<br>[[East Germany|DD]]
|-
! rowspan=15| [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|PDS]]
! 1990
| bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top" style="border-bottom-style:hidden"| 2.4
| bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 16.4
| rowspan=4| 
| rowspan="36" bgcolor="lightgrey" |
| rowspan=2| 
| rowspan=4| 
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 9.2
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 13.4
| 
| 
| 
| rowspan=4| 
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 15.7
| rowspan=5| 
| 
| rowspan=4| 
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 10.2
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 12.0
| rowspan=2| 
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 9.7
|-
! 1991
| rowspan=3 colspan=2 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 |
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=2 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
|-
! 1992
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"|
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
|-
! 1993
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
|-
! 1994
| colspan=2 rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 4.4
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 4.7
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 18.7
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 22.7
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 16.5
| bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 19.9
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 16.6
|-
! 1995
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 14.6
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 2.4
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{efn|Tolerating an SPD–Green [[minority government]].}}
|-
! 1996
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
|-
! 1997
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 0.7
|-
! 1998
| colspan=2 rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 5.1
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 0.2
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''24.4'''
| bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 19.6
|-
! 1999
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 5.8
| rowspan=2 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 17.7
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 23.3
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 2.9
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 0.8
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 22.2
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{efn|Tolerating an SPD [[minority government]].}}
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 21.3
|-
! 2000
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 1.1
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 1.4
|-
! 2001
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''22.6'''
| rowspan=3 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 0.4
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 0.0
|-
! 2002
| colspan=2 rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 4.0
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 16.4
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 20.4
|-
! 2003
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 1.7
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 0.4
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
|-
! 2004
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 6.1
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''28.0'''
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| 
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 2.3
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''23.6'''
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 26.1
|-
! rowspan=2| [[#PDS–WASG alliance|The Left.PDS]]<br />& [[Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative|WASG]]
! 2005
| colspan=2 rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 8.7
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 3.1
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 0.5
|-
! 2006
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| 3.1
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 13.4
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 16.8
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 2.7
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''24.1'''
|-
! rowspan="19" | The Left
! 2007
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 8.4
|-
! 2008
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| '''4.4'''
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 6.4
| rowspan=1 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| 5.1
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''7.1'''
|-
! 2009
| colspan=2 rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''11.9'''
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''7.5'''
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 27.2
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 5.4
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''21.3'''
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 20.6
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''6.0'''
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 27.4
|-
! 2010
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan=2 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''5.6'''
|-
! 2011
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 2.8
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 11.6
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 5.6
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{steady}} 6.4
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 18.4
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''3.0'''
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 23.7
|-
! 2012
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 2.5
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 16.1
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 2.3
|-
! 2013
| colspan=2 rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 8.6
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 2.1
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 5.2
| rowspan=4 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 3.1
|-
! 2014
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 7.4
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 18.6
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 18.9
| bgcolor=#D66C9F style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 28.2
|-
! 2015
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 9.5
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 8.5
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#D66C9F style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|border=silver}}
|-
! 2016
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 2.9
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 15.6
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 13.2
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 2.8
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 16.3
|-
! 2017
| colspan=2 rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 9.2
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 4.6
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 4.9
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 12.8
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 3.8
|-
! 2018
| rowspan=5 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 3.2
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''6.3'''
|-
! 2019
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 5.5
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 10.7
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''11.3'''
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 10.4
| bgcolor=#D66C9F style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} '''31.0'''
|-
! 2020
| rowspan=3 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan=5 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{increase}} 9.1
| rowspan=4 bgcolor=#D66C9F style="border-top-style:hidden"| {{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|border=silver}}
|-
! 2021
| colspan=2 rowspan=4 bgcolor=#E8CAD8 style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 4.9
| rowspan="5" style="vertical-align:top" | {{increase}} '''3.6'''
| rowspan=2 bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 14.0<br />{{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| bgcolor=#E29FBF style="vertical-align:top"| {{decrease}} 9.9
| rowspan="5" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 2.5
| rowspan="5" bgcolor="#E8CAD8" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 11.0
|-
! 2022
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 2.7
| rowspan="4" bgcolor="#E29FBF" style="border-top-style:hidden" | {{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 2.1
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 2.6
| rowspan="4" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 1.7
|-
! 2023
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 1.5
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="#E8CAD8" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 12.2
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="#E29FBF" style="vertical-align:top" | {{increase}} 10.9<br />{{Colour box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|Alliance 90/The Greens}}|border=silver}}{{Colour box|{{party color|The Left (Germany)}}|border=silver}}
| rowspan="3" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 3.1
|-
! 2024
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="#E8CAD8" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 2.7
| rowspan="2" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 3.0
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="#E8CAD8" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 4.5
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="#E8CAD8" style="vertical-align:top" | {{decrease}} 13.1
|-
!2025
| colspan=2 bgcolor="#E8CAD8" style="vertical-align:top" | {{increase}} 8.8
| bgcolor="#E8CAD8" style="vertical-align:top" | {{increase}} '''11.2'''
|-
! Party
! Year
! colspan=2 | {{flagicon|Germany}}<br />[[Germany|DE]]
! {{flagicon|European Union}}<br />[[European Union|EU]]
! class="unsortable"| 
! {{flagicon|Baden-Württemberg}}<br />[[Baden-Württemberg|BW]] !! {{flagicon|Bavaria}}<br />[[Bavaria|BY]] !! {{flagicon|Berlin}}<br />[[Berlin|BE]] !! {{flagicon|Brandenburg}}<br />[[Brandenburg|BB]]
! {{flagicon|Bremen}}<br />[[Bremen (state)|HB]] !! {{flagicon|Hamburg}}<br />[[Hamburg|HH]] !! {{flagicon|Hesse}}<br />[[Hesse|HE]] !! {{flagicon|Lower Saxony}}<br />[[Lower Saxony|NI]] !! {{flagicon|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}}<br />[[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern|MV]] !! {{flagicon|North Rhine-Westphalia}}<br />[[North Rhine-Westphalia|NW]] !! {{flagicon|Rhineland-Palatinate}}<br />[[Rhineland-Palatinate|RP]] !! {{flagicon|Saarland}}<br />[[Saarland|SL]] !! {{flagicon|Saxony}}<br />[[Saxony|SN]] !! {{flagicon|Saxony-Anhalt}}<br />[[Saxony-Anhalt|ST]] !! {{flagicon|Schleswig-Holstein}}<br />[[Schleswig-Holstein|SH]] !! {{flagicon|Thuringia}}<br />[[Thuringia|TH]]
|-
| colspan=21 align=left| '''Bold''' indicates best result to date.<br />{{Colour box|#E4C2D3|border=silver}} Present in legislature (in opposition)<br />{{Colour box|#E29FBF|border=silver}} Junior coalition partner<br />{{Colour box|#D66C9F|border=silver}} Senior coalition partner
|}

== See also ==
* [[List of political parties in Germany]]
* [[Stasi|Ministry for State Security (Stasi)]]
* [[Communist Party of Germany]]
* [[Merger of the KPD and SPD]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Literature ==
* Dominic Heilig, [http://www.rosalux-nyc.org/mapping-the-european-left/ Mapping the European Left: Socialist Parties in the EU], Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, April 2016
* David F. Patton. ''Out of the East: From PDS to Left Party in Unified Germany'' (State University of New York Press; 2011)
* [[Hubertus Knabe]], ''Honeckers Erben. Die Wahrheit über Die Linke''. Propyläen, Berlin 2009, {{ISBN|978-3-549-07329-2}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Elo|first1=Kimmo|year=2008|title=The Left Party and the Long-Term Developments of the German Party System|journal=German Politics and Society|volume=26 |issue=88 |pages=50–68|doi=10.3167/gps.2008.260303}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Hough|first1=Dan|last2=Koß|first2=Michael|year=2009 |title= Populism Personified or Reinvigorated Reformers? The German Left Party in 2009 and Beyond|journal=German Politics and Society|volume=27|issue=91|pages=76–91|doi=10.3167/gps.2009.270206}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Die Linke}}
* {{Official website}} {{in lang|de}}
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927210617/http://die-linke.de/fileadmin/download/international/programmatic_points.pdf|date=27 September 2007|title=Programmatic Points}}
* Ingar Solty, [http://www.rosalux.de/cms/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/Themen/leftparties/pdfs/Solty-en-Nov17.pdf The New German Left Party] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227075529/http://www.rosalux.de/cms/fileadmin/rls_uploads/pdfs/Themen/leftparties/pdfs/Solty-en-Nov17.pdf |date=27 February 2008 }}, Rosa Luxemburg Foundation
* [http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=276626 Dan Hough, Michael Koss and Jonathan Olsen: The Left Party in Contemporary German Politics. London: Palgrave, 2007]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223504/http://www.linksnet.de/artikel.php?id=3214 Ingar Solty: Transformation of the German Political System and European Historical Responsibility of the German Left Party, Das Argument 271, 3/2007, pp. 329–47] {{in lang|de}} 
* [http://badmatthew.blogspot.com/2007/04/victor-grossman-on-die-linke.html Victor Grossman: A Huge Step Towards Left Unity in Germany, Monthly Review Zine]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070827083024/http://www.monthlyreview.org/0507is.htm Ingo Schmidt: The Left Opposition in Germany. Why is the Left So Weak When So Many Look For Political Alternatives?, in Monthly Review, May 2007]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080405054200/http://www.socialistproject.ca/inthenews/die_linke.html A New European Socialist Movement? The Rise of the Left Party in Germany] by Ingar Solty and Frank Deppe, in Toronto, Canada, 18 March 2008
* [http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls29.php Was the German Election a Turning Point?], Toronto, Canada, 13 November 2009

{{The Left (Germany)}}
{{Party of the European Left}}
{{parties of Germany}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Left (Germany), The}}

[[Category:Die Linke| ]]
[[Category:2007 establishments in Germany]]
[[Category:Anti-fascist organisations in Germany]]
[[Category:Anti-militarism in Europe]]
[[Category:Democratic socialist parties in Europe]]
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[[Category:Left-wing populism]]
[[Category:Multi-tendency organizations]]
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[[Category:Opposition to NATO]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Berlin]]
[[Category:Parties represented in the European Parliament]]
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[[Category:Political parties established in 2007]]
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