Left with a wave of new members - 470 new members since Wednesday

Since Wednesday, 473 people have joined the Left Party in Saxony. This means that more than 900 people have joined since the beginning of the year, according to spokesperson William Rambow. The usual annual membership figures (around 150 to 500) have therefore already been far exceeded.

The growth was already particularly high in 2024 with around 1,400 new members. The party's regional association now has just over 7,800 members.

Nationwide, the Left Party reports around 71,300 members. According to the party, more than 11,000 people have joined in the past two weeks.

"It is unbelievable what kind of energy the clarification of our positions and a clear focus unleashes," said party leader Ines Schwerdtner. The party is struggling to re-enter the Bundestag and is polling at four to five percent support in recent surveys.

Protests after joint vote by CDU/CSU and AfD

On Wednesday, CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader and chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz (CDU) put a motion to limit migration to a vote in the Bundestag, which only received a majority because the AfD also agreed to it. On Friday, a bill with a similar thrust failed to pass due to a lack of votes from the CDU/CSU and FDP.

At the weekend, there were protests across Germany against the CDU/CSU's course. According to the police, 160,000 people took part in the largest demonstration in Berlin; the organizers even spoke of 250,000 participants. According to the police, 10,000 people took to the streets in Leipzig. There were also protests in Chemnitz.