Left Party leaders bet on fair and climate-friendly recovery in campaign year kick-off
威力彩玩法 / Der Spiegel
The leaders of the Left Party have called for a socially fair and climate-friendly coronavirus recovery as the centrepiece of the German government鈥檚 policy in election year 2021. In released to kick-off the year, the party says 2021 must become 鈥渢he year of change.鈥澛 鈥淚n the next 15 years, we must achieve the transformation to a CO2-free, energy- and resource-saving economy and infrastructure in order to reach the 1.5 degrees Celsius target,鈥 says the paper. It proposes a 鈥淟eft Green New Deal,鈥 including a mobility transition with a stronger focus on public transport and an annual 20-billion-euro fund to help the transition in industry, 鈥渆specially in the car supply sector.鈥 The Left Party also calls for CO鈧-neutral industry production by 2035.
The rise of the Greens creates a dilemma for the Left Party, as it is both a desired coalition partner and a close competitor in this year鈥檚 election campaign, . The Left Party leaders鈥 paper is an offer to the Green Party to form a future coalition, and at the same time it is also a challenge in the battle for votes in the election itself, he writes. At the Left Party鈥檚 annual kick-off convention, party head Katja Kipping said: 鈥淭he social-ecological transition is only possible with us, with a strong left. All those who bet on black [party colour of the conservative CDU] can actually kick their green election programme into the bin right now.鈥
In autumn 2021, Germany will head to the ballots to elect a new federal parliament. Since the previous election on 24 September 2017, climate and energy have consistently moved up among voter priorities. A string of hot, dry summers that took a toll on the country's environment have contributed to massive climate protests led by the Fridays for Future movement, which put emissions reduction efforts at the heart of public debate.