Political scientists advise the CDU to open up to the Left Party. Hans Vorländer, Director of the Center for Constitutional and Democracy Research at the TU Dresden, told the “Handelsblatt” (Monday edition) that the Left Party is today “neither radical nor extremist and stands undoubtedly on the ground of the free democratic basic order.” The small neo-Marxist wing, following the departure of Sahra Wagenknecht, is virtually non-existent. One can criticize the demands of the Left, but they do not violate the Basic Law.
Vorländer advises the Union to “lay aside the incompatibility decision” and not to rule out the possibility of forming coalitions with the Left if it is the only feasible option beyond the AfD. It is understandable that the Union would object to Left demands for nationalization of basic services or large housing companies. However, criticism of capitalism is also completely legitimate under the Basic Law.
Berlin’s FU Party researcher Gero Neugebauer also stated, “The PDS had already given up revolutionary talk in 2003 and recognized the basic rules of the Federal Republic.” He added, “Those who are against the market economy are not unconstitutional, as the Basic Law does not protect the economic order, but only property.” Both remind the CDU that it already cooperates with the Left in Thuringia and Saxony. Vorländer urges the Union to finally take notice of this at the federal level.