Left parties fail with motion against military research

The Left Party has failed in the Saxon state parliament with a motion to stop military research at Saxon universities. In a vote in the state parliament, the motion was only supported by the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). In essence, the Left Party wanted to write a civil clause into the Higher Education Act "while safeguarding academic freedom". The party argued that such a clause already exists in several federal states at over 70 universities.

"Universities pursue exclusively peaceful purposes in their research, teaching and studies. The funds made available to universities by the state and third parties should be used exclusively for projects that serve these purposes," the motion stated. Arms companies should not be able to buy influence over universities. "There are more wars raging in the world than there have been for decades. This scares people, they want security," said parliamentary group leader Susanne Schaper.

Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow (CDU) saw few convincing arguments for the introduction of the clause. "Today, after the geopolitical situation has changed dramatically since 2022 and war has returned to Europe, such a demand is even more incomprehensible and does not take into account the bitter realities." Technical innovations could ward off attacks and save lives. That is why we are dependent on military research.