“It’s a Huge Relief”

For socialists and people on the Left more generally, the big news from Germany’s federal election last month was the unexpected success for the democratic socialist party, Die Linke. After two years of polling at 3 percent, in the weeks leading up to the election, a sudden turnaround saw the party — first to 5 percent, the threshold to renter parliament, then to 6 and 7, and ultimately 8.8 percent, its second-best result ever.

The result comes on the back of tens of thousands of young people joining the party in recent months, ensuring that the party does indeed have a future. But it also secures the continued existence of its party-aligned foundation, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. The foundation’s press officer, Alrun Kaune-Nüsslein, spoke with foundation executives Heinz Bierbaum and Daniela Trochowski about what the result means for the foundation, and how they plan to build on the recent success going forward.

Die Linke, the party to which the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is aligned, re-entered the German parliament, the Bundestag, with a great result and a sizable parliamentary group. What does that mean for society?

HB: It’s a great result and a great comeback not only for the party — the result strengthened the Left as a whole. Die Linke has risen in importance. It is now the voice of the social opposition in parliament. This also strengthens its international influence, for example in the European Left. Moreover, the fact that young people in particular voted for Die Linke and that we are the strongest party within this age group is a source of hope.

DT: Yes, the election result is encouraging. It shows that there is space for a left-wing party in this country. The issues that concern many people will now be taken to parliament. I’m thinking, for example, of the rent freeze, the rising cost of living, and wages and salaries.

What does the election result mean for the foundation?

HB: It’s a huge relief, because it means that the foundation is financially secure for the next few years. Nevertheless, we have to prepare for declining financial resources. The Foundation Financing Act is not off the table after this election. We will heavily feel the effects of the law from 2026 onwards.

Die Linke’s campaign was effective, but it can’t be transferred one-to-one to the foundation.

DT: We have to use our resources wisely and target them specifically at political education and social analysis. We now have the chance to focus more on our political work and political debates. Our foundation is needed in the left-wing family. This means that we have to focus and reduce duplicate structures.

The foundation sees itself as a left-wing think tank and a provider of political education. The good election result for Die Linke cannot hide the fact that the overall political coordinates have shifted further to the right. Not least for this reason, many young people have gotten involved in politics in recent weeks. What new challenges will this bring?

HB: Given that many young people now see themselves as being on the Left, the foundation will attract a whole new level of interest. For us, this means expanding our educational programming and thinking about a variety of formats and opportunities for young people to get involved. That’s a big challenge.

DT: We will continue to pursue the issues with which we have had an impact on society and on which we are considered to have a high level of expertise, such as the rent freeze. But we will also address other pressing issues such as the rising cost of living, the growing polarization of society, and, of course, the issue of refugee movements and a society of the many. We want to use our studies and analyses to show that certain demands made by the left wing of society can also work. We will continue to work on this.

The recipe for Die Linke’s success in its recent campaign was said to be its focus on a few key issues, simple and understandable communication, and a strong presence on social media. Can the foundation build on this?

HB: Die Linke’s campaign was effective, but it can’t be transferred one-to-one to the foundation. We have to think longer-term and analyse social conditions in depth. It’s difficult to explain social relations in 30 seconds.

DT: Election campaigns are always a very pointed situation. That can’t be transferred to the foundation. We want to convey factual knowledge, highlight social connections, and recognize important developments at an early stage. We have to think beyond today. Our studies and analyses should have an impact on society and strategically support Die Linke. I know that not everyone reads long publications. We certainly need to expand our podcast formats. Translating studies for social media formats is a task we have to take up.

HB: We will continue to support the left wing of society through our analytical and educational work. We will continue to sharpen our strategic focus. Our social media channels are primarily intended to generate interest in the foundation and its offers, to draw attention to us and our work.

Two days before the election, the Christian Democrats’ (CDU) parliamentary group submitted a parliamentary inquiry with 551 individual questions to the federal government under the title “Political neutrality of state-sponsored organizations”. The focus is on non-profit associations such as Correctiv, Omas gegen Rechts, Campact, or Friends of the Earth, and their public funding. Some see this as an assault on democracy and civil society. How do you see it?

DT: Is this the new Chancellor’s and the governing CDU’s understanding of democracy? Is anyone who demonstrates against government policy being targeted? This misjudges the work of non-profit organizations. They are not per se politically neutral, but reflect the broad political landscape. It is precisely this diversity that is a cornerstone of our democracy. Here, non-profit organizations are to be gagged. This has authoritarian traits. It is good if broad resistance is raised against it, because the headline that stands over the public donations that some of these associations have received is “promoting democracy”. That is exactly what Omas gegen Rechts and all the others have done.

The good election result obliges us to qualitatively improve the cooperation between the party, the parliamentary group, and the foundation.

HB: This is an attack on civil society and democracy that is sharply reminiscent of Trump’s approach.

Last year was a difficult year for the foundation. With the entry into force of the Foundation Financing Act, it will have to adjust to declining financial resources from 2026. What steps have been taken to consolidate the finances?

HB: We were and are faced with the necessity of adapting the foundation to the resources available to us. That is why we initiated a process of operational change in 2024 to secure the foundation’s future. This included vacating rented premises, concentrating our political work, reducing project funding and, as a last resort, cutting jobs.

Despite the very good election results of the party, the process of operational transformation remains necessary. We have to ensure that the foundation remains solvent and capable of acting even after the expected decline in funding.

What happens next?

DT: We are currently calculating the new funding rate, the impact on revenues, and the development of expenses over the next few years. The financing rate will fall from around 9.9 percent to 8.49 percent. This is partly because the Foundation Financing Act stipulates that the average of the last four election results determines our foundation’s financing share, and the very good election result of 11.9 percent in 2009 will now drop out of this average.

On the other hand, the Alternative für Deutschland’s Erasmus Foundation is being taken into account for the first time. This again has a significant impact on the level of funding for all other foundations. Further imponderables are the federal budgets for 2025 and 2026, which have not yet been passed, and the expected high collective bargaining agreement, which is good news for employees but weighs on the foundation’s financial situation.

HB: The good election result obliges us to qualitatively improve the cooperation between the party, the parliamentary group, and the foundation. The Executive Board will take a look at this and draw conclusions.

Translated by Loren Balhorn.