Bodo Ramelow, the Vice President of the Bundestag and member of the Left party, has strongly criticized his own party leadership for its handling of the initiative to cap parliamentary allowances. In a letter addressed to the party leadership-Jan van Aken and Ines Schwerdtner-Ramelow accused them of “political deception” and a “complete disregard” for a resolution passed at a previous party conference.
The dispute centers on a recent motion proposed by the Left party executive board for the upcoming federal party conference in June. The proposal suggests that Left deputies in the Bundestag and European Parliament should limit their allowances to a gross amount equivalent to the average current German salary. Additionally, the motion provides extra funding of €350 per child and for dependent care. Sources report that the party leaders, Schwerdtner and van Aken, currently already cap their own salaries at €2,850 net.
Ramelow argued that the initiative promoted last Saturday constituted a direct contravention of an earlier party conference resolution. Specifically, he criticized the executive board’s plan because he believes it both risks becoming an unconstitutional provision and violates the core decision made at the 2025 federal party conference.
The context for the conflict stems from a previous agreement: a year ago, the Left party had resolved at its conference to develop concepts for salary limitations for all levels of deputies (European, federal, and state) and for term limits. Furthermore, the resolution stated that the executive board would propose amendments to the federal statutes, requiring a two-thirds majority, by 2027. Ramelow pointed out that the current proposal from the leadership fails to reference these vital statutory changes.
He harshly criticized this omission, stating that the executive board’s actions amounted to a significant breach of trust, since the question of amending the foundational statutes was intrinsically linked to the motion originally passed in Chemnitz. Following this sentiment, he echoed this criticism in his letter, calling the procedure “political deception”.
Ramelow demanded that the motion be immediately suspended and instead subjected to review by an arbitration committee. He further requested that the proposal not be submitted to the federal party conference for a vote until the committee has reached a decision.
Separately, Ramelow emphasized his own support for the party adopting a policy of rejecting “exorbitant allowances and automatic increases”. He also publicly stated that the party should donate and make available relevant parts of these allowances for social, cultural, and charitable causes. Finally, he stressed that it was natural for all deputies to adhere to the resolutions of the party and the parliamentary groups, including supporting these with donations.