New leaders of the left: Schwerdtner and van Aken rely on unity!

New leaders of the left: Schwerdtner and van Aken rely on unity!

On the weekend of October 19th and 20th, 2024 there was an important meeting of the Left Party in Halle (Saale), at which the new chairmen Ines Schwerdtner and Jan van Aken were elected. This election brings a breath of fresh air to the party after its predecessors, Janine Wissler and Martin Schirdewan, decided not to run for office again. The newly elected chairmen are committed to increasing the party's commitment to peace policy and social issues. Van Aken emphasized: “We as the left must fight for disarmament in a very practical way in the next few years,” which was rewarded with loud applause from the party members.

However, critical incidents also occurred during the party conference. Member of the state parliament Henriette Quade was threatened by members of the Handala Leipzig group on the sidelines of the event. This group had previously gathered outside the hall at a pro-Palestinian rally. Van Aken expressed concern about the situation and made it clear that such threats were unacceptable in political debate.

Demonstration for the millennium field

Parallel to the party event, another important demonstration took place in Leipzig: hundreds of people gathered on the Millennium Field to protest for the preservation of this open space. The citizens’ initiative “Save the Millennium Field!” and the Ecolion organized this event. The demonstrators called for the creation of a district park and criticized the plans to develop the area for a school campus for the International School Leipzig. The speeches repeatedly referred to the upcoming decisions in the Council that will affect the fate of the Millennium Field. Both a petition and an application from Die Linke and the SPD are up for vote.

The city of Leipzig is faced with increasingly complex tensions when it comes to urban development and citizen participation. The demonstrators' demands are expressed against the background that participatory decision-making processes are often pushed into the background. This issue will be discussed again at the upcoming council meeting on October 23rd.

Last Pegida demonstration in Dresden

The last demonstration by the controversial Islamophobic movement Pegida took place in Dresden on the same weekend. According to the police, around 500 people took part and held up, among other things, Reich flags and flags of right-wing extremist groups. The withdrawal of this movement from the streets is seen by many observers as a sign of a changing political climate in Germany.

Furthermore, on the same weekend there was an incident near Clara Zetkin Park in Leipzig, in which a 24-year-old man chased the police. The suspect was eventually caught after he hit a vehicle and fled on foot. During a search, a long gun and drugs were found in his apartment. The man now has to answer for several offenses, including unauthorized motor vehicle racing and violations of the weapons law.

The weekend in Saxony was marked by political disputes, demonstrations for social justice and the end of a controversial movement. These events reflect the full range of challenges and opportunities facing society.

For more information about these events, see the current reporting on www.l-iz.de.