Berlin, Germany – In the weeks leading up to the German election, the man who was expected to become chancellor, Friedrich Merz, broke a long-standing, cross-party firewall that had hampered cooperation with the far-right, anti-immigrant party Alternative For Deutschland (AfD), to pass tougher immigration laws.
After two deadly attacks carried out within the last few weeks by men who reportedly sought refuge in the nation, political pressure had increased.
Angela Merkel, a former Chancellor who also belongs to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was among those who condemned the decision despite it being ultimately blocked.
A visibly outraged Heidi Reichinnek, the co-governor of the left-wing party Die Linke, directly lambasted Merz for working “deliberately” with” rightwing extremists in a passionate speech delivered in the Bundestag.
Only two days after we commemorated the liberation of Auschwitz and two days after the tortured and murdered were commemorated. You are now working with those who adopt the same philosophy, she said.
Reichinnek was placed at the top of the national news agendas after posting it on TikTok, where it received more than seven million views. The self-described socialist, feminist, and anti-fascist who has tattoos, including one inking Rosa Luxemburg, is the subject of a covert discussion about the fallout, as well as the social media presence and style of the self-described socialist, feminist, and anti-fascist.
Reichinnek redoubled down on her progressive campaign as the election approached, meeting with a well-known queer influencer, regularly criticizing Merz on social media and speaking out against housing costs and the AfD.
The plan worked out.
Die Linke received a reportedly quarter of the vote from young people in the February 23 election, which is more than double its voter turnout from the previous election in 2021. It was the party’s highest figure among this electorate.
Reichinnek, who co-chairs the initiative with Soren Pellmann, described the outcome as an incredible accomplishment for both Die Linke and those who fought for “social justice, solidarity, and democracy” in an interview with Al Jazeera.
There is real momentum for progressive politics in Germany, according to the fact that so many people have joined the party, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to support human rights, and we were able to win so many new voters.
“But this is only the start,” he said. Elections are significant, but they don’t end there; they are a part of a much bigger conflict. The far-right is still a threat, social inequality is still rising, and the cost of living crisis is still raging. We will continue to speak out loud and unyieldingly in parliament and the streets, according to Reichinnek.
Die Linke’s electoral resurgence, which came after internal struggles, is being credited to the 36-year-old. Sahra Wagenknecht, one of its prominent leaders, resigned in 2023, and in 2024, low polling results in regional and European elections caused widespread condemnation of the party.
According to Stefan Marschall, a political scientist at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, “it was amazing to see this rise of Die Linke, which seemed doomed to death last year.” “Die Linke was able to mobilise a lot of young people, especially in the final mile of the campaign,” Die Linke said. And Reichinnek’s role was crucial because of the very clear communication she used to address issues like the rising cost of housing and the far-right resurgence, which many young people find troubling.
The AfD had not been challenged on social media, according to Berlin-based Die Linke member Moheb Shafaqyar. Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, a district he is active in, was a well-known left-wing outcome in the country. “We have seen a trend reverse in this election while there is a frightening trend of young people voting for the right in Germany and around the world.”
roots in East Germany
Reichinnek was a political and social activist from her teenage years until she was born in Saxony-Anhalt, a year before the Berlin Wall fell.
In a 2022 interview, she said, “The Hartz IV laws (unemployment reforms) are at the top of the list of things that frustrated me.” “I value the equality of women more than effective, better child and youth welfare and basic child benefits that help poor families,” I said.
She attended the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg between 2007 and 2011, where she majored in political science and Middle Eastern studies. She spent time in Cairo during this time as the so-called Arab Spring erupted.
She described the accomplishments of Egyptian protesters as “astonished by what people can accomplish when they stand together.”
Before joining Die Linke in 2015, she worked as a research assistant on a project looking at the transformation of Arab societies and spent time teaching German to refugees. One year later, she joined the Left in northwest Germany’s Osnabrueck. She took on the roles of a self-described socialist, feminist, anti-fascist, and environmental grassroots initiative.
She rose up the party ladder. She became the youngest state chairwoman of the party at the state party conference in Lower Saxony in 2019 and was supported by more than 86 percent of delegates. She has been working on issues like pensions, youth, women’s, and family policy since she was elected to the Lower Saxony state list two years later.
The political scientist, Marschall, claimed that “an East German background is still an exception in Germany’s political sphere.” Her involvement with social policy issues is significantly more authentic because of her background in an East German working-class household.
Die Linke’s ascent was timed so that her trajectory was also influenced by internal conflict. The failure of Wagenknecht and a number of other colleagues, who founded the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in the year 2012 election, was followed by disagreements over the country’s position on immigration.
Oezguer Oezvatan is the founder and co-founder of Transformakers, a global organization for diversity and inclusion, and the Berlin-based author of Jede Stimme Zaehlt (Every Vote Counts, 2025). Opportunities did arise during this challenging time for the party, he claimed.
The party’s progressive and pro-immigration voices were able to grow and support more liberal immigration policies after Wandnecht left, according to Wachnecht.
Oezvatan claimed that the Israel-Palestine conflict, which caused additional reversals, was another factor.
“Human rights activists had a window into the future to become a more pro-Palestinian and Israel-critical party. This improved Die Linke’s portrayal of human rights and progress in general.
Reichinnek spoke with the electorate both online and off the street and on social issues.
Because of her work in the field so far, Oezvatan said, “she is an authentic voice for social policy, and she was already viewed as a social media star prior to the election campaign, which undermines the idea that politicians only use TikTok during an election campaign.”
She talks to people, and we saw that in her speech to Merz, she seemed very honest and open-minded, Marschall continued. And that appeals to people who have grown to know older, more controlled, and emotionally detached political figures.
Due to the sensitive nature of her work, Die Linke voters chose Lina Mueller, a 34-year-old counsellor working in a pregnancy advice center, to ask for Al Jazeera to use a pseudonym.
Reichinnek defends the party’s younger members while battling outdated Left rivalries in the areas of social justice and anti-abortion legislation. She doesn’t employ tactics to increase AfD support like Wagenknecht does. Reichinnek comes across as very convincing despite their apparent populist bias.
Reichinnek’s party has “a lot of energy at the moment, and she’s one of the batteries,” according to Marschall, as the post-election dust settles and Germany contends with a recession-facing economy and re-energised far-right.
The party line has a revitalizing sense of clarity, according to party member Shafaqyar in Berlin.
Source: Aljazeera
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