Schwerdtner wants to become chairwoman of the Left Party

Publicist Ines Schwerdtner wants to become the federal chairwoman of the Left Party. "I have decided to run for the chairmanship of our party at the upcoming party conference in Halle," said Schwerdtner, who was born in Werdau, Saxony, in 1989, on her website. In the European elections, she was ranked fifth on the Left Party list, but missed out on a place in Parliament.

Schwerdtner works as a freelance journalist and publicist. Among other things, she was involved in the initiative "Deutsche Wohnen & Co. expropriate" and in a campaign against rising prices. According to the Saxony-Anhalt Left Party association, Schwerdtner is currently organized in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district association.

A new political culture needs to be established in the party, says Schwerdtner. What is needed is an approach that is characterized by mutual trust and a focus on common political goals. "I know there is incredible strength in this party. We just have to know how to use it again."

Series of election defeats for the Left

The two federal chairpersons Janine Wissler and Martin Schirdewan announced their withdrawal on Sunday. They no longer want to run for office at the party conference in Halle in October. The background to this is the growing criticism of the two chairpersons, and the splitting of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) has also weakened the party. Several politicians from the Left had recently called for structural changes and better integration of the regional associations.

The Left Party has suffered a series of electoral defeats; in 2021, it only entered the Bundestag via a special rule with three direct mandates. In the European elections in June, the Left Party only received 2.7 percent of the vote.

Von Angern: "She's not a Berlin bubble"

The leader of the parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt, Eva von Angern, backed Schwerdtner. "She is not a Berlin bubble," von Angern told the German Press Agency. Schwerdtner is rooted in the East and is familiar with the realities of life for people from the East.

During the European election campaign, Schwerdtner wrote on her website that she was campaigning for a real change in the East. "I am fighting for the dignity of people in the East, for good wages and pensions, for sustainable industries and jobs."