A couple of weeks ago, Christa Luft, Heiner Fink, Friedrich Wolff and Klaus Höpcke in an open letter proposed me as a candidate for the post of vice chairperson of the LEFT party. Since then, many comrades as well as elected officials of our party have signalled their support and have also encouraged me to think about a candidacy at the next Party Congress. I thank all who have offered me their support or respectively have already actively endorsed my candidature.

I at first was open towards such a candidacy myself. Also for the reason that in my political work and at public events, in particular in the electoral campaigns of the last year, I have had the experience, again and again, that with my positions against neoliberal policies, for an anti-capitalist orientation and a consequent opposition strategy I seem to be representing by no means only a single current, but considerable parts of the membership of the new party, East and West.

However, the open letter has also unleashed different reactions. Thus it was signalled to supporters that my possible candidacy would be viewed as a "war declaration" by some officials from the source organisation PDS. It was threatened that harsh counter-reactions would follow, there were threats of resignations in case I was elected. Instead of dealing with my real positions, I was accused of an "unclear relationship to Stalinism" - without providing any proof which could have hardly been found. That way considerable pressure was mounted. As a result, also some who support my candidacy politically, advised me to renounce to it for the time being in order to save the new party at its first party congress such a sharp, polarising confrontation.

I have to recognise that my possible candidacy, at least by some, is not accepted as a normal democratic process but is hyped up to a "pull test" with dangerous consequences. It is naturally not in my interest either that the first party congress of our young party in public perception instead of focussing on left alternatives to neoliberalism, war policy, privatisation and pension robbery should be dominated by the question of a combat candidacy and trench warfare over personnel questions.

Added to that is yet an additional problem. It is politically desired and reasonable that until the year 2010, the leading functions of our party, chairperson as well as substitutes, be staffed in equal numbers by representatives from the former PDS and the former WASG. However, this proportion is now for the first time no longer secured by electoral procedure. My candidacy could therefore have as a result that the weights are shifted towards one of the two original parties. I would consider such a result problematic myself.

For all of these reasons, I will not stand as candidate for vice party chairperson at the upcoming party congress. I shall rather try again for a seat in the party executive in order to continue to enter my word first at this level into the shaping of the policy of the LEFT. I hope very much that the forms of inner-party confrontation that I know from the past and that some have cultivated afresh during the last couple of weeks won't have any future in the new party.


Brussels/Berlin, 16 May, 2008
Sahra Wagenknecht, MEP