The Party of the European Left (PEL) is fragmenting and splitting into two, with one of the strands looking to create a left, green and feminist party comprising more members from central and eastern European countries, its leaders told Euronews.
The formerly 27-strong Party of the European Left (PEL) – a cross-European political grouping – has split into two factions, with one seeking to expand to absorb parties from central and eastern Europe.
The PEL – which is connected to but independent of The Left group in European Parliament – has now been reduced to 23 parties and just five MEPs, including Greece’s Syriza and Germany’s Die Linke.
Finland’s Vasemmistoliitto, Portugal’s Bloco de Esquerda, Denmark’s Endheslisten and La France Insoumise have ditched the party and joined Sweden’s Vansterpartiet, Poland’s Razem and Spain’s Podemos in creating the so-called ‘European Left Alliance for the Planet and the People’, which with seven parties and 18 MEPs is now pending approval from the Authority for European Political Parties.
“We are already starting to expand eastwards, because in addition to the parties that were already [aligned on values and mission], Poland’s Razem is also joining, and we think that is important,” Portuguese MEP Catarina Martens, co-president of the new green-left alliance, told Euronews in an interview, adding that other parties from the common platform for the EU elections [Now the People] are open to joining them.
Luxembourg’s Dei Leinke, Germany’s Die Linke and especially parties from Eastern and Central European countries have already been approached to join the alliance, several sources told Euronews.
“Forces in central and eastern Europe are growing and they need to have a family”, Swedish MEP Malin Björk said. “Our platform will be very relevant in central and eastern Europe [in the years to come]”.
Germany’s Die Linke has not ruled out joining the alliance. “All questions related to the foundation of a new left-wing party will be decided by Die Linke in due course,” the office of MEP Martin Schirdewan, member of Die Linke, told Euronews.
Luxembourg’s Déi Lénk, on the other hand, is open to joining a European party committed to peace, environmental sustainability and social justice, but it still needs to see the principles and conditions under which the new European party will operate, its spokespersons said.
“The matter will be discussed at our next Board meeting in September where we will decide if an ELA-Membership shall be considered or not,” they added, hoping for both parties to eventually find a way to come back together.
New party, old differences
In the run-up to the European elections, some former members of the European Left Party decided to form their own platform with the likes of the Croatian Green Mozemo! or Ireland’s Sinn Féin, due to differences with the long-established EL members, for example over their positions on the war in Ukraine.
Yet the creation of a new European party came as a surprise to the president of the European Left, Walter Baier (Communist Party of Austria/KPÖ).
“Even if we disagree [on certain issues], this would be a reason to continue the dialogue and not to break up and stop talking to each other, because we also need unity in European security policy,” he argued.
For those who left, however, the split is a formalisation of a long-standing difference in positions between those who stayed behind and the new cohort of the Green-Left alliance.
“It [the alliance] really grows out of the need to have a platform that is green, feminist and left,” said Björk. “We don’t close the doors to other parties with a strong ecological perspective, a strong feminist perspective, against [supporting] the war in Ukraine [with military support]”.
Baier regrets the move, pointing to the rise of the far right and the need to remain more united than ever, and expects their remaining members to stay united.
ADVERTISEMENT“I don’t want to play this game of these [parties] are here and these [parties] are there, because after all we want to cooperate with these parties and also with the new party, when it exists,” Baier added.
