‘We shall be a loud voice’: Leftist chief Reichinnek woos younger Germans

Berlin, Germany – Within the weeks main as much as the German election, Friedrich Merz, the person tipped to turn into chancellor, broke a longstanding, cross-party firewall that blocked cooperation with the far-right, anti-immigrant social gathering, the Different For Deutschland (AfD), to push by means of more durable migration laws.

Political stress had been piling after two lethal assaults inside a matter of weeks, reportedly carried out by males who had sought asylum within the nation.

Whereas the laws was in the end blocked, the transfer prompted condemnation from throughout the political spectrum, together with from former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who, like Merz, belongs to the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

In an impassioned speech within the Bundestag, the German Parliament, a visibly outraged Heidi Reichinnek, co-governor of the Left social gathering often called Die Linke, lambasted Merz straight for working “intentionally’’ with “rightwing extremists”.

“All this occurred solely two days after we commemorated the liberation of Auschwitz, two days after commemorating the murdered and tormented. Now you’re collaborating with those that keep on this identical ideology,” she stated.

The speech went viral, with greater than seven million views on TikTok, and pushed Reichinnek to the highest of nationwide information agendas. Protection targeted on the fallout, but in addition the social media presence and magnificence of the self-described socialist, feminist and anti-fascist who’s adorned with tattoos – together with an inking of the German Marxist Rosa Luxemburg.

Because the election drew nearer, Reichinnek doubled down on her progressive push, assembly with a distinguished queer influencer, posting recurrently to her a whole bunch of 1000’s of social media followers, criticising Merz additional, and talking out about housing prices and the AfD.

The technique paid off.

Within the February 23 election, Die Linke polled at 9 p.c, greater than doubling its voter share from the final election in 2021, with a reported quarter of younger folks backing it. It was the best determine for any social gathering amongst this demographic.

Chatting with Al Jazeera following the outcome, Reichinnek, who shares the management with Soren Pellmann, stated it was an unimaginable achievement not only for Die Linke, however for everybody who stood up for “social justice, solidarity, and democracy”.

“The truth that so many individuals have joined the social gathering, that a whole bunch of 1000’s took to the streets to defend human rights, and that we have been in a position to attain so many new voters reveals that there’s actual momentum for progressive politics in Germany.

“However that is only the start. Elections are essential, however they don’t seem to be the tip purpose – they’re a step in a a lot larger combat. The price of dwelling disaster isn’t over, social inequality remains to be rising, and the far proper remains to be a risk. That’s why we are going to proceed to be a loud and uncompromising voice in parliament and on the streets,” stated Reichinnek.

Commentators are crediting the 36-year-old for enjoying an integral function in Die Linke’s electoral resurgence following inner struggles. In 2023, certainly one of its high-profile leaders, Sahra Wagenknecht, give up and in 2024, low polling figures within the European and regional elections had many writing off the social gathering.

“It was astonishing to see this rise of Die Linke, which appeared doomed to dying final yr,” Stefan Marschall, a political scientist on the Heinrich Heine College in Duesseldorf instructed Al Jazeera. “What occurred, particularly over the past mile of the marketing campaign, was that Die Linke was in a position to mobilise a whole lot of younger folks. And Reichinnek’s function was essential, her communication technique was very clear and addressed sure points, such because the excessive housing prices and the resurgence of the far-right, which many younger individuals are involved about.”

“Up till now, the AfD had been unchallenged on social media,” stated Moheb Shafaqyar, a Die Linke member in Berlin. The district he’s energetic in, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, upended the Inexperienced social gathering seat, a high-profile left-wing outcome nationally. “Whereas in Germany and globally there’s a scary development of younger folks voting for the correct, on this election we now have seen a development reversal.”

East German roots

Born within the japanese state of Saxony-Anhalt in 1988, a yr earlier than the autumn of the Berlin Wall, Reichinnek was all for politics and a good society from her teenage years.

“On the prime of the listing of issues that pissed off me are the Hartz IV legal guidelines (unemployment reforms), which I wish to abolish,” she stated in a 2022 interview. “Equality for ladies is simply as essential to me as efficient and higher little one and youth welfare and fundamental little one advantages that help poor households.”

Between 2007 and 2011, she studied Center Japanese Research and Political Science on the Martin Luther College of Halle-Wittenberg. Throughout this era, she frolicked in Cairo because the so-called Arab Spring broke out.

“I used to be amazed at what folks can obtain once they stand collectively,” she stated of Egyptian protesters.

She engaged in additional tutorial pursuits, together with as a analysis assistant on a undertaking taking a look at transformation in Arab societies, and intervals working within the social sector, together with educating German to refugees, earlier than she joined Die Linke in 2015. She grew to become a member of the Left faction in Osnabrueck in northwest Germany a yr later. Right here she took on roles comparable to spokesperson for a self-described socialist, feminist, anti-fascist and ecological grassroots initiative.

She rose by means of the social gathering ranks. On the state social gathering convention in Decrease Saxony in 2019, she obtained the help of greater than 86 p.c of delegates, making her the social gathering’s youngest state chairwoman. Two years later, she was elected to the Bundestag on the Decrease Saxony state listing, engaged on points comparable to pensions and youth, ladies’s and household coverage ever since.

“An East German background remains to be an exception in Germany’s political sphere,” stated the political scientist, Marschall. “Her background in an East German working-class family additionally highlights that she didn’t enter politics from a place of privilege, making her engagement with social coverage points considerably extra genuine.”

The timing of her ascent as Die Linke confronted inner strife additionally helped her trajectory. A foul outcome within the 2021 federal election adopted by disagreements over its place on immigration and later Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine contributed to the departure of Wagenknecht and a cohort of colleagues, who fashioned a brand new social gathering, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) final yr.

Ozger Ozvatan is the top and co-founder of the variety and inclusion company Transformakers, and the writer of Jede Stimme Zaehlt (Each Vote Counts, 2025) based mostly in Berlin. He stated throughout this tough time for the social gathering, alternatives emerged.

“Wagenknecht was towards immigration and after she left, there was an opportunity for the progressive and pro-immigration voices inside the social gathering to turn into larger and transfer the social gathering in the direction of extra liberal immigration insurance policies.”

The opposite issue, Oezvatan stated, was the Israel-Palestine battle, which led to additional departures.

“There was one other window of alternative for human rights activists to make it a extra pro-Palestinian and Israel-critical social gathering. To most of the people, this made Die Linke look extra progressive and human rights-oriented.”

Reichinnek was energetic on social points and interesting with the voters on- and offline.

“She is an genuine voice for social coverage due to her work to this point within the discipline,” Ozvatan stated, “plus she was already seen as a social media star earlier than the election marketing campaign interval, and this undermined the place that politicians solely go on TikTok as a result of it’s an election marketing campaign.”

“She will get near folks, and she or he appears to be very sincere and really frank in the best way she talks, which we noticed within the speech to Merz,” added Marschall. “And that’s very enticing to people who find themselves used to older, extra managed and unemotional political figures.”

It’s a mode that has resonated with Die Linke voters comparable to Lina Mueller*, a 34-year-old counsellor in a being pregnant recommendation centre, who requested Al Jazeera to make use of a pseudonym because of the delicate nature of her work.

“Reichinnek stands for a youthful era of the social gathering whereas on the identical time continues to combat older Left battles round social justice and anti-abortion laws. She doesn’t use methods to get extra votes from AfD voters in the best way that Wagenknecht does. Whereas they each seem to be populists, Reichinnek comes throughout as very convincing.”

Because the post-election mud settles and Germany contends with a recession-facing economic system and a re-energised far-right, Reichinnek’s social gathering has “a whole lot of vitality in the meanwhile, and she or he’s one of many batteries”, Marschall stated.

In line with social gathering member Shafaqyar in Berlin, the social gathering line has an invigorating sense of readability.

“Reichinnek is worried concerning the points, not private self-importance and energy for the sake of energy. I hope it stays that means.”