The base of the Left Party is larger, younger, female and western than ever before. This is shown by numbers that the party’s executive board has compiled in preparation for their federal party congress, as reported by the news portal T-Online. With 112,660 members, the Left Party now has more members than ever before. Approximately 55,000 of them joined the party since the beginning of 2025, representing a doubling within four months. The average age in the party is now 39 years and the female share is around 45 percent.
The Left Party is particularly strong in the West, as its power center has traditionally been in Eastern Germany. According to the party, of the 55,000 new members since the beginning of the year, 39,000 joined in the West and 16,000 in the East. In total, the party claims that 62 percent (69,618) of its members now live in the West and 38 percent (43,042) live in the East.
“Thus, The Left has become a pan-German party” the party concludes. “We are the place of hope for all those who do not want to accept the current development.” Ines Schwerdtner, the leader of the Left Party, told T-Online about the party’s growth. The prices and rents are rising, the wages are stagnating, the other parties are moving to the right and the dominant slogans are “elbow grease” so Schwerdtner says. “People come to us who say: ‘No – a better world is possible. And together we can fight for it.'”
Schwerdtner does not believe that the strong growth has fundamentally changed the party. “The new members encounter experienced comrades at the grassroots level, who are happy that young and motivated people are joining and reviving the work on the ground.”
The older members are willing to share their experiences, according to Schwerdtner. And the party offers training on a regional and national level – “not only Marxist theory, but also practical tools for political work.