Die Linke, identity politics and the working-class vote

Die Linke, Germany's radical left party, has unveiled its candidate list for the upcoming elections. The list includes people from ethnic minorities, the LGTBI community and people with disabilities, a step forward in representation that has nevertheless been met with a wave of mockery and criticism on social media. The paradox is that this contempt does not come only from the right: part of the traditional working-class base, the very people who should feel represented by a social justice programme, has also laughed and turned its back.

The phenomenon has a mirror image in Spain. Comparisons with Podemos and with Pablo Echenique, the former organisation secretary who has a disability, have been inevitable. Embracing diversity as a hallmark is a nod to urban, pogre voters, but it also risks deepening the gap with ordinary workers, who see in these lists a pogre elite disconnected from their economic problems.

Die Linke's economic programme is among the most radical in Europe: nationalisations, shorter working hours and social spending. Yet the public conversation, once again, focuses on identity rather than class. Has identity language turned the redistributive agenda into smoke? Some argue that diversity is a platform for reaching more voters, while others see it as a trap to shift the focus away from the class struggle.

If the candidacy of a classic left-wing woman, as some analyses suggest, can sweep aside this seemingly postmodern list, Die Linke's experiment will have been a mirage. Or perhaps not. And the question that remains is whether the German voter prefers a mirror of society or a tool to change the economy.