Socialist alternative to right-wing populists, CDU and traffic lights needed!
At around 3 pm on Saturday, 31 August, hundreds of people gathered at three different rallies in Leipzig city centre to demonstrate against the AfD – just a few days before its predicted victory in the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. After the opening rallies, the individual marches set off and merged into a demonstration of 11,000 people. Sol (CWI Germany) members from Berlin and Thuringia were also in Leipzig on Sunday, campaigning for a socialist alternative to the AfD and the anti-social CDU-led state government and the traffic light policy that they are fuelling.
At the same time as the demonstration in Leipzig, 11,000 also took to the streets in Dresden, 7,000 in Erfurt and 350 people in Zittau. The turnout was thus at the upper end of expectations. The Nazi marches against the CSD parades in Bautzen, Leipzig and Magdeburg certainly meant that even more people felt it was necessary to make a statement.
Political Weaknesses
Unfortunately, the organisers of the demonstration in Leipzig once again relied on a broad alliance, ranging from the Left Party to the Greens, SPD, FDP and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). Similar to previous large demonstrations against the AfD, this was also reflected in the speeches. There was no criticism of the government’s anti-social cuts policy and some speakers even went so far as to justify the billions spent on weapons for Ukraine.
However, the conversations we had with the participants revealed a different mood. In addition to rejecting the AfD, many people were frustrated with the decades-long policies of the established parties. We often heard ‘Who else can you vote for?’. The applause for the speakers who called for support for the war in Ukraine was also muted. This uncritical support for the government certainly also led to parts of the population viewing the demonstration with scepticism. Instead of involving more people with such alliances, they put off important sections of the population and only appear to be larger due to the large number of party logos on the supporters’ pages.
Stopping the AfD and Nazis
The Sol counters that there must be a focus on social problems and the inability of capitalism to solve them. This could strengthen the common struggle of all workers, regardless of their origin. To this end, the policies of the SPD, CDU/CSU, Greens and FDP must be criticised, as must the anti-social and anti-working-class consequences of an AfD government. Jörg Urban, the AfD’s lead candidate in Saxony, announced radical cuts to public services if he comes to power.
BSW and Die Linke
In some discussions, participants said that the BSW would be a sensible alternative, precisely because of their rejection of military support for Ukraine. This is understandable, but the BSW is not fundamentally different from the established parties (see here). It is a right-wing splinter party of the left. Wagenknecht and her supporters have removed the words ‘capitalism’ and ‘socialism’ from their vocabulary, instead talking about a new social market economy and seeking a balance between the interests of capital and labour. Above all, however, Wagenknecht blows the same horn as the AfD when it comes to migration policy and will not weaken the AfD as a result. In doing so, she is distracting the debate from the real causes of the multiple crises of capitalism and creating scapegoats, primarily asylum seekers.
Unfortunately, Die Linke has also discredited itself in the eyes of many due to its years of government participation and its course of adaptation. We continued to campaign for a vote for Die Linke, but also emphasised that a party for workers and young people that lives up to its socialist claim is needed more than ever. This is the only way to push back the AfD. Sol is campaigning for such a party on the left, in the trade unions and social movements. If you also want to do something against right-wing agitation and capitalism, then get in touch with us!
