The Left puts peace policy on the agenda in the Saxon state parliament

The left-wing parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament is putting the topic of peace policy on the agenda for next week's parliamentary session. In one motion, the parliamentary group opposes military research at Saxon universities. In a second, the Left Party speaks out against the stationing of American medium-range missiles in Germany. The AfD has also formulated a similar motion with regard to the missiles.

"Ending and preventing wars is the decisive task," said parliamentary group leader Susanne Schaper. Her party does not want Saxony's universities to conduct research for armaments purposes. Research, teaching and studies must serve exclusively peaceful purposes.

The Left Party wants to see a corresponding civil clause enshrined in the Higher Education Act. "The Free State of Bavaria must finance state universities and the Cooperative State University in such a way that they do not require third-party funding from the arms industry," said Schaper.

Left-wing parties reject the deployment of US medium-range missiles

In the opinion of the Left, new medium-range missiles in Germany increase the risk of war because they would change the strategic balance between the USA and Russia. "There is no "capability gap" because both sides already have long-range conventional and nuclear-capable weapons systems by air and sea," it said. Saxony must lobby the federal government and the Bundesrat to ensure that such weapons are not deployed.

Meanwhile, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in the state parliament is examining whether it can approve the AfD and Left Party motions on missile deployment. "In principle, we are examining all motions," parliamentary group leader Sabine Zimmermann told the German Press Agency.

The BSW had already called for a no to missile deployment during the election campaign. It was also one of the sticking points in the failed exploratory talks with the CDU and SPD to form a joint government in Bavaria.