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Her Hessian regional association sent her to receive a greeting, says Janine Wissler at the beginning of her speech, and that is, of course, a huge understatement. Of course, this Saturday morning, Wissler did not come to the Thuringian city of Sömmerda to receive some nice messages from the neighboring country.
It’s about much more than that: Wissler wants to become a leftist leader. In Sömmerda he appears in public for the first time with his partner of choice Susanne Hennig-Wellsow. And this also in the congress of the party of the comrades of Thuringia, that is to say, in the model country of left-wing pragmatists and government supporters.
It’s a home game for Hennig-Wellsow. She is the head of the left in Thuringia, leads the parliamentary group in the state parliament, is considered the architect behind Red-Red-Green in Erfurt.
Wissler, on the other hand, although as a parliamentary group leader in Hesse with a lot of parliamentary experience, is something of the icon of left-wing street fighters. Those comrades who believe that change can best be achieved through protests, demonstrations and extra-parliamentary movements, and less through compromises between members of parliament.
Skepticism in the East
Can a duo of these two women function as a leftist leader in the year before the federal elections? That is one of the big questions that many comrades are asking now. Especially since in the absence of competition it is almost certain that the two will be chosen. In any case, Sömmerda is a first test run for the future left model.
In the pragmatic East in particular, many scientists have been skeptical in recent years. Due to his membership in the Trotskyist network Marx21, he has since retired. Because of his reluctance to participate in the government.
At the left-wing strategy conference in Kassel in the spring, Wissler said a phrase that still resonates with comrades: “No superior being will save us, no god, no emperor, and no left minister either.” Shortly before, Hennig-Wellsow had spoken on the podium, the champion, so to speak, of as many left ministries as possible.
“Another society”
This time, Wissler refuses to make such a direct comment. But neither does he succumb to the temptation to fall into government folklore.
The “breaking of the dam to the right,” that is, the FDP’s election of Thomas Kemmerich as short-term prime minister with AfD votes, has also been corrected, says Wissler, because many people took to the streets against it. The fact that Hennig-Wellsow threw a bouquet of flowers at Kemmerich’s feet in plenary session was an “anti-fascist symbol.”
Wissler praises the activist moments of the Thuringians, minus the concrete government policy. Denounce daily racism, also in the security authorities. She calls for the expropriation of real estate companies and a change in the structures of power and property. It’s a typical Wissler speech.
“The left has to be a party that supports concrete struggles, even for the slightest improvement,” says Wissler. “But the left must also be the party that says: we are an anti-capitalist party, we want a fundamentally different society.”
“Dare more Thuringia”
Otherwise, there is rarely so much radical socialist vision on this day. The main motion for the party’s state congress is titled: “Thuringia: It doesn’t matter who rules.” Outgoing party leader Katja Kipping, who is also visiting Sömmerda, is vigorously promoting a replacement for the Union after the federal elections, that is, an alliance with the SPD and the Greens. And Hennig-Wellsow propagates the “Thuringian style” – it’s about “success for the people,” he says.
The left must understand “that we need an affirmative perspective.” That means: government, also in Berlin. This is not an open contradiction to what Wissler says. But a completely different sound.
In general, the differences between Hennig-Wellsow and Wissler in Sömmerda are obvious. Wissler is an excellent speaker, her combative language, harsh announcements have made her popular with the rank and file. Wissler appeals to the heart of the left, serves the desires of radicals and utopians, but can also score more and more with moderates. She receives the loudest applause in Sömmerda.
Hennig-Wellsow, on the other hand, has more difficulties on stage, he doesn’t care much about emotional appearances. However, she does not swear and makes herself heard in public. Hennig-Wellsow has a clear focus, a clear plan for the federal elections. It represents the hopes of all those who want to finally take power in the Bund.
Demonstrative unit
Despite or perhaps because of these differences, the new duo could be a great opportunity for the left. When Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger took over the party in 2012 after a chaotic party congress, they were both poorly known, inexperienced and poorly profiled. For a long time, they were hardly aired in public. Wissler and Hennig-Wellsow would certainly have a better starting position.
At the same time, thanks to their different accents, the two can address wide sections of the party. In Sömmerda, the two fight for demonstrative unity. They keep popping up side by side in the hall, smiling, and after Wissler’s speech, Hennig-Wellsow hands him a bouquet of flowers.
At best for the left, the two manage to form a kind of internal party coalition and unite the contested groups and fields on the left and pragmatic wing.
But can they also organize an electoral campaign that does not lead to confusion of attitudes among the left with a view to a red-red-green government perspective?
Question of strategy
In the end, that is also a central strategic question. Sure, there are some steadfast diehards on the left who would fundamentally reject any compromise. But many left-wing parties are more likely to ruin the grassroots and at the same time weaken their bargaining position if they meet potential partners early on.
Others, however, see the urgent need to build trust with the SPD and the Greens to make coalition talks possible in the event of an electoral victory. You want clear signals of a willingness to speak rather than high demands.
It is a dilemma that both women will carry with them from now on.
