The Left (Luxembourg)

The Left
Déi Lénk
LeaderCollective leadership
Founded30 January 1999
Headquarters63, bvd de la Pétrusse, Luxembourg
Youth wingJonk Lénk
Ideology
Political positionLeft-wing to far-left
European affiliationParty of the European Left
Colours  Red
Chamber of Deputies
2 / 60
European Parliament
0 / 6
Local councils
5 / 722
Website
dei-lenk.lu
Politics of Luxembourg
Constitution
Monarchy
Executive
Legislature
Elections
Administrative divisions
Foreign relations

The Left (Luxembourgish: Déi Lénk [dəɪ ˈleŋk]; French: La Gauche [la ɡoʃ]; German: Die Linken [diː ˈlɪŋkn̩]) is a democratic socialist[2] political party in Luxembourg.[3] On the political spectrum, it is considered a left-wing[12] to radical left[20] political party. The Left is associated with The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament but does not have any members. The party participates in the Party of the European Left.[21] The Left wishes to transition Luxembourg from a constitutional monarchy into a republic.[22]

The Left was founded by the New Left and the Communist Party of Luxembourg (KPL) as an electoral party. It had members from both parties and independents.[23] In the 1999 Luxembourg general election, the Left won 3.3% of the votes and one seat in the parliament; André Hoffmann was elected from the southern constituency. In 2000, after anticipated elections in the city of Esch sur Alzette, Hoffmann became deputy mayor and Aloyse Bisdorff (KPL) succeeded him in parliament. In accordance with the Left's statutes, Bisdorff resigned from parliament and was succeeded by Serge Urbany in 2002. A dispute arose between a number of members of the KPL and the majority of the Left; as a result, the two parties ran separate lists in the 2004 Luxembourg general election. The Left won 1.9% of the votes and lost its parliamentary presence. In the 2009 Luxembourg general election, it increased its share of the vote to 3.3% and Hoffmann returned to parliament as the Left's sole representative; Hoffmann's personal vote of 9,067 in the south constituency was almost equal to the total number of votes gathered by the KPL, which won 10,803 votes.[24] In 2013, the party elected two members (Serge Urbany and Justin Turpel).

Ideology

In 2022, member of parliament Nathalie Oberweis of déi Lénk made a statement concerning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, that a peace solution to which Russia as well as Ukraine could agree should be found as fast as possible, and that this could best be achieved by Ukraine renouncing their accession to NATO.[25]

According to their electoral programme (Point 17.4) déi Lénk want the complete dissolution of NATO or at least the exit of Luxembourg from the organisation.[26]

Election results

Chamber of Deputies

Election Votes % Seats +/– Government
1999 110,274 3.3 (#6)
1 / 60
 New Opposition
2004 62,071 1.9 (#6)
0 / 60
 Decrease 1 Extra-parliamentary
2009 109,184 3.3 (#6)
1 / 60
 Increase 1 Opposition
2013 161,759 4.5 (#6)
2 / 60
 Increase 1 Opposition
2018 193,594 5.5 (#7)
2 / 60
 Steady 0 Opposition
2023 147,839 3.9 (#7)
2 / 60
 Steady 0 Opposition
Constituency 2013
votes		 % 2009
votes		 % 2004
votes		 % 1999
votes		 %
Centre 51,851 5.75 35,411 3.50 20,451 1.99 27,999 2.82
East 5,941 3.05 3,911 2.25 2,179 1.31 2,448 1.63
North 8,138 2.56 5,785 2.00 3,725 1.34 3,653 1.41
South 95,829 5.73 64,077 4.13 36,868 2.28 76,174 4.98

European Parliament

Election List leader Votes % Seats +/– EP Group
1999 Aloyse Bisdorff 28,130 2.77 (#6)
0 / 6
 New –
2004 André Hoffmann 18,345 1.68 (#6)
0 / 6
 Steady 0
2009 37,929 3.37 (#6)
0 / 6
 Steady 0
2014 67,513 5.76 (#6)
0 / 6
 Steady 0
2019 David Wagner 60,648 4.83 (#7)
0 / 6
 Steady 0
2024 Ana Correia da Veiga 43,701 3.15 (#7)
0 / 6
 Steady 0

References

  1. ^ a b Klein |, Von Raymond (2019-08-05). "Carole Thoma (Déi Lénk): Was ist radikal, was realistisch?". woxx (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  2. ^ Abrahamian, Atossa (15 September 2017). "How a tax haven is leading the race to privatise space". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 February 2022. The next day, I went to meet Marc Baum, an MP from the democratic socialist party déi Lénk (the Left).
  3. ^ Quotidien, Le. "[Communales] Déi Lénk: " L'original plutôt que la copie "" (in French). Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  4. ^ Josep M. Colomer (24 July 2008). Comparative European Politics. Taylor & Francis. pp. 221–. ISBN 978-0-203-94609-1. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  5. ^ Manancourt, Vincent (15 February 2021). "Luxembourg MP breaks ranks to condemn tax scandal". Politico. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  6. ^ Lambert, Yannick; Oglesby, Kate (16 December 2021). "Parliament approves tighter laws targeting unvaccinated". Luxembourg Times. Retrieved 15 February 2022. Three opposition parties – the right-wing Alternative Democratic Reform party, the left-wing déi Lénk and the Pirate party – all voted against Prime Minister Xavier Bettel's proposals.
  7. ^ "Luxembourg". Europe Elects. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  8. ^ Carette, Julien (6 October 2021). "The government "lacks courage" for déi Lénk". Delano. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  9. ^ "DP loses one seat, ADR wins one". RTL Today. 18 June 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  10. ^ Hegedus, Daniel (2017). "The State of Populism in Europe 2017 – Germany: Catching up, but still at the bottom of the European league". Academia. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  11. ^ Buth, Vanessa; Högenauer, Anna-Lena; Kaniok, Petr (2019). "The Scrutiny of Brexit in National Parliaments: Germany, Luxembourg and the Czech Republic Compared". In Christiansen, Thomas; Fromage, Diane (eds.). Brexit and Democracy: The Role of Parliaments in the UK and the European Union. Switzerland: Springer. p. 123. ISBN 978-3-030-06043-5.
  12. ^ [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
  13. ^ "[Communales] Déi Lénk : « l'Original plutôt que la copie »".
  14. ^ Quotidien, Le. "[Communales] Déi Lénk : « L'original plutôt que la copie »" (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  15. ^ "Déi Lénk, seul contre tous". paperjam.lu (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  16. ^ "Déi Lénk, de l'émancipation à la visibilité". paperjam.lu (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  17. ^ "déi Lénk" (PDF). dei-lenk.lu. 2017.
  18. ^ Klein |, Von Raymond (2018-06-21). "Élections : Départ à gauche". woxx (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  19. ^ Klein |, Von Raymond (2019-08-05). "Carole Thoma (Déi Lénk): Was ist radikal, was realistisch?". woxx (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  20. ^ [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][1]
  21. ^ "Discover our member parties, observers and partners". www.european-left.org. 2024-01-08. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
  22. ^ Amini, Babak (2016). The Radical Left in Europe in the Age of Austerity. Routledge. P. 78 in the subchapter "The radical left in Benelux" by Erik Meijer. ISBN 978-1-138-67356-4.
  23. ^ Wagener, Sascha (2009). "The Left in Luxemburg" (PDF). Daiber, Birgit/Hildebrandt, Cornelia, the Left in Europe. Political Parties AndParty Alliances Between Norway and Turkey: 30–40. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
  24. ^ Netgen, Éric (2009-06-11). "Empire of the Census". Le Jeudi. Archived from the original on 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  25. ^ "Ukrain: Fir Déi Lénk ass e Friddensaccord den eenzegen Auswee". 100komma7.lu (in Luxembourgish). 2022-06-14. Retrieved 2024-03-03.
  26. ^ "Programme". dei Lénk 2023 Walen (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-14.

Bibliography

  • Wehenkel, Henri, Communisme et postcommunisme au Luxembourg, in: Communisme 2014, 1989–2014 – L'éternel retour des communistes, p. 165–172
  • Wehenkel, Henri/Redondo, Jean-Laurent/Hoffmann, André/Urbany, Serge, Table ronde: PCL et/ou nouvelle gauche: renouvellement et/ou scission, in: Cahiers Marxistes, No. 201, April–May 1996, p. 121–144