Germany's socialist Left Party is set to make yet another attempt to reset itself in the autumn after its two co-leaders Janine Wissler and Martin Schirdewan announced they would not be running for re-election at the party conference in October.

Wissler and Schirdewan, who have been in office since 2021 and 2022 respectively, admitted at the weekend that they had failed to revive the party's fortunes after a devastating party split last year when 10 MPs and over a hundred state parliament representatives left the party to join the splinter group around the Left's most famous figure, Sahra Wagenknecht.

Despite being only eight months old, the 'Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance' (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht — BSW) is currently polling at around 9% nationally, while the Left Party is at 3%.

Schirdewan acknowledged the party leadership's failure to gain enough public attention on core issues — the cost of living, energy prices, and peace. "As the Left Party, we have not managed to pressure the government enough … I have to say that, very self-critically," he told the public broadcaster ARD on Sunday. "We have spent too long turning in on ourselves as a party, and that has to do with the fact that there were public arguments — we had a split not too long ago, and of course that has left its mark, especially in the public perception."

The party itself has now admitted that it essentially has a year to save itself before the next national election in the autumn of 2025. "The Left Party is without doubt in a dangerous situation that threatens its very existence," the party leadership said in its leading motion........

© Deutsche Welle