/ world today news/ In the footsteps of Willy Brandt’s “New Eastern Policy”?
That day, or rather on October 23, 2023, one of the most recognizable (third most popular, according to opinion polls) German politicians Sarah Wagenknecht announced the creation of her own political force.
The new party, the appearance of which was talked about at least throughout the year, and its final formalization took place after the official exit of Wagenknecht from the “Left Party” (Die Linke), was named, according to the German tradition, quite unpretentiously – Union of Sahra Wagenknecht (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht).
The main slogan of the Union is the appeal “For common sense and justice” (Für Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit), which has no clear political overtones. In general, it seems that the party is “for everything good and against everything bad”.
What exactly will the new party that plans to try in the upcoming European Parliament elections in June 2024 be, and most importantly what it can and should become in order to break out of the eternal framework of the opposition minority and create a real , unlike the once marginal AfD, a political alternative for the German voter, we will try to reflect today.
Let’s start with the fact that born in Jena (GDR), from the union of a German woman and an Iranian student, Sarah Wagenknecht, unlike Angela Merkel, has never been ashamed of her “socialist” past. Moreover, she was subsequently repeatedly criticized by her party comrades for being too soft on the historical legacy of the German Democratic Republic.
Throughout her political career, from membership in the GESP (the political party in the GDR) to her rapid rise in personal popularity as leader of the “Left” faction in the Bundestag, Wagenknecht defended the ideas of classical German social democracy: social justice, the development of the German economy in the interest of the citizens of Germany, the pursuit of a peaceful foreign policy and the refusal of military intervention in conflicts between states.
Agree, this is quite different from the policy of the current Social Democratic Party of Germany – SPD and the government formed on its basis, headed by the current Bundeschancellor Olaf Scholz. Officially, modern German social democrats profess the principles of the welfare state, multiculturalism, feminism, anti-fascism and pro-European choice.
But in fact, for quite some time, nothing social has been seen in the actions of the German leadership, and the well-being of the Germans has been sacrificed on the altar of the struggle of the collective West (read the USA) to prolong its hegemony.
Instead of multiculturalism – reckless migration policy, instead of feminism (struggle for political and economic rights of women) – LGBT agenda and destruction of traditional values, the “pro-European” choice has long since become pro-American. And to talk about anti-fascism in Germany, which openly supports the neo-Nazi regime in Ukraine, is simply meaningless.
But back to Sarah Wagenknecht. It is easy to see that her political rise coincided with the beginning of the relationship and then the creation of a family with the famous German politician Oskar Lafontaine.
It was Lafontaine who initiated the formation of the “Left Party” from the fragments of the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism, formerly GESP), of which Wagenknecht was a member at the time, and the left wing of the SPD, which left the party in 2004 after Lafontaine, former chairman of the Social Democrats and their main ideologist until March 1999, when, due to disagreement with Gerhard Schröder’s government policy, he resigned from all government (Minister of Economy and Finance) and party posts.
Since June 2007, Lafontaine has been co-chairman of the Left Party. In 2014, he officially, albeit quietly, married his ex-girlfriend Sara Wagenknecht, 26 years his junior, with whom he had been in a three-year relationship until then.
Lafontaine and Wagenknecht can initially be called like-minded, and given the significant difference in age and therefore the paternalistic relations that inevitably arise in their family, the authority of the husband, his way of thinking and political views become defining to a large extent for Sarah herself.
And when, on March 17, 2022, Lafontaine left Die Linke /”The Left”/, justifying his decision with “the party’s refusal to accept a left-wing alternative to the policies of social insecurity and inequality of the current German government”, and already in May of the same year, when he spoke out against the supply of German weapons to Ukraine, accusing the “Greens” of warmongering and “blindness” to the war crimes of the United States, it became clear that the days of his wife in the ranks of ” the left’ have been counted.
Actually, what do I mean? It seems to me that a preliminary understanding of exactly what Sarah Wagenknecht’s political project will be can be obtained by carefully studying the views of her husband. And they, in turn, are based (and LaFontaine does not give up on this) on the ideas of the “New Eastern Policy” of Willy Brandt.
For those who have no memories of the time of this, without any exaggeration, outstanding political figure (along with Konrad Adenauer, the founding father of the Federal Republic of Germany and its first chancellor, Brandt, the fourth chancellor, became the figure in German politics whose merits recognized by all, regardless of party bias) To briefly remind what we are talking about.
While still Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the coalition government (CDU/CSU and SPD) under Kurt Georg Kiesinger, Brand encouraged a departure from the previous course of confrontation with the Eastern Bloc countries in favor of a policy of “change through rapprochement” (Wandel durch Annäherung), establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Yugoslavia and Romania.
Already as chancellor, Brand contributed significantly to the signing on February 1, 1970 in Essen of the Soviet-West German agreement, known as “gas for pipes” and which actually became the cornerstone of the long-term cooperation between the USSR and then the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany.
In fact, until recently, relations between our countries were largely based on the pragmatic, business-like approach devoid of an ideological core proposed by Willy Brandt.
On March 19, 1970, on Brand’s initiative, the first meeting of the heads of government of the GDR and FRG took place in Erfurt, which marked the symbolic beginning of the rapprochement of the two German states.
On August 12, 1970, in Moscow, together with the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, Alexei Kosygin, Brandt signed an agreement on the recognition of post-war borders in Europe, which marked the beginning of a series of similar agreements between Germany and the countries of Eastern Europe.
On December 7, 1970, during a state visit to Poland, Brandt knelt at the memorial to the victims of Nazism in the Warsaw Ghetto. It was perhaps the first such case in history when a state politician of such high rank paid tribute to the memory of the fallen and at the same time asked for forgiveness on behalf of millions of Germans for the crimes committed by the National Socialist regime.
Therefore, it is not surprising that on December 10, 1971, for his contribution to the improvement of international relations, Brandt was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with the wording “In recognition of specific initiatives that have led to a reduction of tension between East and West.”
Brand’s domestic policy is characterized by a number of social reforms that improved the situation of certain categories of the population, mainly with middle and low incomes, students, pensioners, and also made it more accessible to the mass consumer to obtain quality medical services.
It is for the continuation of such a balanced and reasonable policy and the development of Willy Brandt’s ideas that Oscar Lafontaine advocates. The other day he gave a short interview to Westend Verlag, in which he specifically noted:
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Completely irrational and even harmful are the attempts of the current authorities to brand with the humiliating nickname Russlandversteher (understanding of Russia) anyone who considers the arguments of the Russian leadership on issues of the current international agenda to be reasonable or at least worthy of attention. Moreover, they distance German politics from the emergence of what can be called a Deutschlandversteher – that is, a statesman acting primarily in the interest of Germany, which dictates the existence of good and neighborly business relations with Russia.
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In modern Europe, the “left” idea has been crippled and replaced by a so-called left-liberal agenda that has nothing to do with human rights and a decent standard of living for all. The current “left” is increasingly concerned with the right of various minorities to impose their point of view and, as a result, the will of the majority, and in the format of an outright dictatorship.
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Problems with perverted morals, ideological attitudes and in some places quasi-religious dogmas cannot and must not become an obstacle to ensuring the well-being of German citizens. And this cannot be achieved without cooperation with Russia. Europe needs Russia, but Russia also needs Europe – this is a natural attraction, and to question it because of ideology or misunderstood moral standards is the greatest folly.
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The Franco-German alliance must continue to be the basis of an independent European policy. Only he will be able to ensure the rejection of the dangerous radicalization of European society and also help Europe regain its own voice without turning back to the United States, or at least without following blindly in the fairway of the United States’ international policy
It turns out that, based on Lafontaine’s judgments presented above, Wagenknecht’s new party cannot be purely left-wing, it must still be more left-conservative (if you can say that in principle) and in any case , different from anything that is presented today in the political space of Germany.
In essence, “The Union of Sarah Wagenknecht” should become a kind of reissue of the SPD – the SPD of the sane person – and a return to the ideas of Willy Brandt (to which Lafontaine himself aspired throughout his career). Ideas of well-being and collective security. For everyone, not against or at the expense of anyone.
Translation: ES
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