Left Party sues Federal Ministry of Economics over Instagram video

The Left Party is taking action against Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) before the Federal Constitutional Court. The party wants to oblige the ministry to delete a video on its Instagram channel. In the video from September 24th, Reiche says that it is dangerous for Germany as an investment location that a party talks about expropriation, writes this into its program and “openly practices anti-Semitism”. The left-wing federal chairman Luigi Pantisano accused Reiche on Monday in Berlin of having “abused the ministry channels to agitate politically”.

The Left Party had asked the ministry to delete the video by September 29th. Reiches Haus had not complied with this. The Left Party is of the opinion that the minister has disregarded her duty of neutrality. The Left Party's right to equal participation in political competition was violated. A ministry spokesman, however, said on Monday that the video was “an extension of a speech to family entrepreneurs” and “clearly refers to the impact on and threat to Germany as a business location.”

In the past, the Federal Constitutional Court has dealt several times with official statements by members of the government on party political issues. In 2018, the Karlsruhe judges complained that the then Federal Education Minister Johanna Wanka (CDU) published a press release on her ministry's homepage in which she criticized a planned demonstration by the AfD.

Four years later, the court ruled that former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had violated the AfD's right to equal opportunities by criticizing the election of FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich with AfD votes as Prime Minister of Thuringia at a state reception in South Africa.

The constitutional judges demand that members of the government use official resources cautiously. In particular, they want to avoid distortions in competition with opposition parties that do not have such resources at their disposal.

Unlike Wanka and Merkel, Reiche does not mention any party by name in her video. The fact that she is referring to the Left Party is not only clear through the references to expropriations and anti-Semitism: Reiche also speaks of a party “that cheerfully welcomes organized crime at election parties.” Four days before the video was published, clan leader Issa Remmo attended the election party of the Neukölln Left Party.

If the Federal Constitutional Court upholds the Left Party, it would be an important success for them. In the past few weeks, the party has been under a lot of pressure: in addition to allegations of anti-Semitism and clan contacts, there is also the issue of the party's relationship with left-wing extremism.

Last week it became known through a F.A.Z. investigation that Berlin mayoral candidate Elif Eralp (Left) was a member of the Rote Hilfe until last year. The association is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a proven left-wing extremist effort. A day later, left-wing parliamentary group leader Sören Pellmann joined the Rote Hilfe.

The left-wing federal chairman Luigi Pantisano accused the CDU on Monday of looking at Berlin with “foam at the mouth”. He considers Rote Hilfe to be an “important association because people who are on trial receive financial and legal support there.” This is “covered by our constitution”. When asked by the F.A.Z. how he felt about the fact that Rote Hilfe advises witnesses against testifying even if there is no right to refuse to testify, Pantisano said that he could not assess this from a legal point of view - but the association's advice would “make sense”.