What do you do when a plan goes wrong? What if you didn't lose, but you didn't win either? On Sunday evening, the left in Magdeburg experienced above all: sadness.
They understood earlier than other parties, immediately after the first projections, what significance the AfD's result had. For Saxony-Anhalt, for the entire republic - but also for you personally and your supporters. Again and again, tears welled up in the eyes of the party's top people. Their big goal for this election in Saxony-Anhalt was to prevent the AfD. In this attempt they failed completely.
The Left had invested a lot in this election campaign. In addition to the top candidate Eva von Angern, the party's stars such as Heidi Reichinnek, who herself comes from Saxony-Anhalt, and the "silver curls" Bodo Ramelow, Gregor Gysi and Dietmar Bartsch were also on the road a lot in the election campaign. They drove all over the country and fought against the success of the AfD. All in vain.
The Left is only at just under nine percent this evening, which means it is well below the result from five years ago. She even had to let the Greens and the SPD pass her by. This is probably also due to the many voters who made a tactical decision so that all three parties would get into the state parliament. The result is still painful for the left. But something else is even more important for the party this evening: the CDU's dismal result.
The Left in Saxony-Anhalt made it clear very early on that it would be willing to work with the CDU to keep the AfD out of power. She only set a few conditions and showed a willingness to cooperate even when the tone from the CDU became increasingly hostile in the days before the election. No matter what happened, the left hand stretched out her hand until her arm became heavy.
Not everyone in the party agreed with this very state-supporting approach in Saxony-Anhalt. Many young left-wing members in particular were not very enthusiastic about working with the CDU. However, with the argument that fascism is just around the corner and that every opportunity must be used to prevent it, many of them have been difficult to catch in the past few weeks. But now the AfD is still stepping through the door to power, and the skeptics see themselves confirmed. The accusation was that the Left was not radical enough, not distinguishable enough from the other parties, and was perceived as too much part of the system. An old question will soon be asked again among the left: How supportive of the state does the party want to be in the future? Does she want the store to run better? Or does she want to fundamentally rebuild it?
Contradiction at the front door
Party leader Ines Schwerdtner's stated goal has been to win back AfD voters for some time. This plan has not been without controversy among the left. But with 44 percent voting for the AfD, this question has basically been resolved, said a member of the party leadership on Sunday evening. The Left has to win back votes from the AfD - because where else will they come from?
Initial post-election surveys show that 89 percent of AfD voters were worried about rising prices. 61 percent of people who describe themselves as workers voted for the AfD. These are the people the left actually wants to reach. During the election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt, the party rang doorbells to talk to people. Only: It didn't help. The contradiction between criticizing the CDU on the one hand and then wanting to support it in government on the other was apparently too great.
Shortly after the results were announced, Ines Schwerdtner explained in an interview with ARD in front of cameras that people's anger was justified. The Left must be an “anti-establishment party,” said Schwerdtner. It could be the sound of the coming weeks. Until now, the slogan on the left was that the party wanted to “organize hope.” But can anger and hope be combined?
A little later Schwerdtner was on stage at the election party. She also had tears in her eyes when she called out to those present: "You are not alone!" No matter how the election evening turns out, Schwerdtner said: "It continues tomorrow."
Supporters and campaign workers also organized an event outside on the square in front of the election party on Sunday. There was a stage, tables and benches in front of it, music from speakers. Many young people came here that evening, many activists from Magdeburg and the surrounding area, to process the news of this election evening together. Some children had drawn a sun on the street with chalk. It was the left-wing, queer Saxony-Anhalt that had gathered here. The AfD's election campaign was directed against these people. And so the sadness and worry of the evening was clearly visible to many of those present at this festival.
But they started cheering again and again that evening. Whenever the results of the first votes from Magdeburg and Halle were announced. Three direct candidates from the Left won their constituencies there on Sunday ahead of the AfD. With clear criticism of the CDU, a focus on social issues and constant conversation with AfD supporters. In the Left party leadership they talk about red lighthouses that they want to build in this way. It will now be seen how far their light reaches.
