Direct mandate for the left in Magdeburg: “We have managed to build a red lighthouse”

taz: Mr. Groener, your left got significantly fewer votes in Saxony-Anhalt than expected and even ended up behind the Greens and the SPD. But you received the most first votes in your constituency in Magdeburg and won the direct mandate. How are you feeling after election day?

Mustafa Groener: On the one hand, I am very happy because we managed to build a red lighthouse through the election campaign in Magdeburg. We rang 30,000 doors, spoke to 10,000 people and gained their trust. On the other hand, the election results are known: the rest of the map is blue. The AfD got around 44 percent, the BSW is also in the state parliament. That worries me, that scares me.

is 27 years old and won the direct mandate for the Left Party in his constituency in Magdeburg.

taz: What did your party do wrong in Saxony-Anhalt?

Groener: We definitely have to evaluate together the reasons why we as a state party lost so many votes. But it is important to see that we were able to win three direct mandates, two in Halle and one here in Magdeburg. We must now consistently use them as shelters against what the fascists are planning. But also against the CDU's social cuts. In the end, she is responsible for the fact that it looks the way it does.

taz: Do you hold the CDU directly responsible for the fact that the AfD won so much?

Groener: The CDU and Friedrich Merz are cutting our welfare state and making savings on the health system. The infrastructure is dilapidated. That makes people here really mad. The CDU has provided so much fodder for the AfD in recent years and has also supported the right-wing course. This has made the AfD stronger and stronger.

taz: How did you manage to convince people of the left in Magdeburg?

Groener: We didn't make empty promises to people. It starts with money. If politicians earn too much, then their politics will also become outdated. I will cap my salary in the state parliament at 2,800 euros net. We made it clear to people that we were opening a neighborhood store here. This will be a place of community where we offer social consultation hours and want to defend ourselves together against the clear-cutting of the CDU and the AfD.

taz: You grew up in a prefabricated building in Magdeburg and were previously shift workers. Have you ever been to the state parliament?

Groener: I haven't been to a plenary session yet. The first appointments with the old and new factions will be scheduled in the next few days. But for us, the focus is on the work here locally in the constituency. We want to remain approachable and organize people. The AfD, should it govern, will be a danger to migrants, queers, leftists and working people. And the CDU will continue to make cuts.

taz: Now you have mentioned the CDU again. Doesn't that pale behind the concerns about an AfD-BSW government?

Groener: Yes, the worries are definitely there. We organize ourselves, yes. If this government comes into being, we will resist - not just with our mandate, not just with the parliamentary group, but from the grassroots. But we also have to clearly state why the AfD is so strong. This is because the CDU has been making politics against the interests of the people here for 24 years. The AfD is a symptom of the neoliberal politics of the last decades.

taz: During the election campaign, the Left in Saxony-Anhalt did not rule out a government with the CDU. Was that a mistake?

Groener: For us as a team here in the constituency, a coalition with the CDU was never an option. The CDU wouldn't have turned its policy 180 degrees if we had governed with them. During the door-to-door discussions, many people told us about their concerns about an AfD government. But just as many were angry with the CDU.

taz: Should the Left support a CDU minority government?

Groener: We don't want an AfD government and will do everything we can to fend it off. However, I cannot imagine a coalition, tolerance or any contractual relationship with the CDU. Together with our neighbors in our constituency, we will resolutely oppose your social theft, pension cuts and class warfare from above.