Gegor Gysi is a veteran of the left. Why does he not believe in the success of a Wagenknecht party and want Wagenknecht to decide quickly?
ZDFtoday: Mr. Gysi, you have always been conciliatory and this time you should mediate between Sahara Wagenknecht and the party leadership. How is the situation?
Gysi: Well, we’ve had new majorities since the party convention and also on the federal board. They have certain ideas and pay a little too much attention to the tradition of the left. I’m trying to mediate because the two sides aren’t so far apart that we need both sides and I’m pretty sure it will be difficult for both.
ZDFtoday: You mention Ms. Wagenknecht and her thoughts on forming a political party. Why do you think a party like this is going to have a hard time?
Gysi: First of all, I am against establishing a party that will rival my own party. Then of course these two sides would attack each other properly and I don’t know if our society needs that. Second, if you say now: According to the polls, Sahra Wagenknecht’s party is high – I don’t believe it.
You also need 16 state associations. You need at least 20 offices and all of them have to be paid for. It sounds very simple, but it is difficult. Third, start a new batch, you know why I think that doesn’t work either? Because for this, there must be a mood in the society. However, there is no such leftist mood in our society at the moment.
ZDFtoday: For several months you have been trying to reconcile the party leadership with Frau Wagenknecht. It is said that in the end a joint paper was not signed by the party leadership. What is the situation there?
Gysi: First of all, they should not sign at all. Suffice them to say that they think what we’re offering is basically good. However, it is very difficult at the moment to bring this together with the different attitudes of Alice Schwarzer and Sahara Wagenknecht towards the peace demonstration, on the one hand, and the party leadership on the other. So Sahara and I agreed on a piece of paper – it’s not that easy either. We both had to jump over our shadows. But we still made it… Okay, we’ll keep talking. But you’re right: it’s hard.
ZDFtoday: Do you also see a failure for the party leadership, who was not mobilized for a major peace rally on the anniversary of the outbreak of war?
Gysi: The party leadership originally intended to support many peace demonstrations. The rally in Berlin could have been our rally, but unfortunately it did not happen. Perception of the left as a peace party is particularly important in this period. It would represent a significant portion of the population.
-
ZDFtoday: Ms. Wagenknecht said she would no longer run for the left. He publicly speculates about forming a party. Why doesn’t he step outside?
Gysi: I can explain this to myself, but in the end you have to ask Sahra Wagenknecht yourself. Therefore, I cannot ignore that a new party will be formed, but perhaps it will not. You know, you should never equate yourself with others, but I know what that mood is like when you really want to do something new, when you want to start a party. I was determined in December 1989 and Sahara is now so determined to form a new party – I’m not sure. But ultimately he decides with others, not me.
So I can only say this: If people are planning to do this, they should do it right away and not torment the party forever.
ZDFtoday: Thanks for this interview, Mr. Gysi.
The interview was conducted by Andrea Maurer, correspondent of ZDF Capital Studio.
Source: ZDF
I am Timothy Glover, a professional journalist and content creator. I specialize in writing and editing for news websites, specifically covering politics. I have been working as an author at News Unrolled for the past five years and have built up a reputation for producing quality content that is both informative and engaging.
