Campaign against the left: Get out of victim mode

For half an evening, leftists in the Left Party, leftists in social media and leftists in left-wing daily newspapers celebrated the Left's election victory in Berlin. Then large parts of them switched to victim mode: a lousy campaign was ruining everything, a cross-front from the far right to the center left was defaming an entire party. Unfair!

Yes, good morning too. What did they expect? It is not new that progressive forces that threaten to succeed face powerful headwinds. It should come as no surprise to anyone that interested parties exploit legitimate points of criticism and fantasize about unjustified ones. The Left has already experienced this when it co-governed in Berlin as a junior partner and provided the first left-wing Prime Minister in Thuringia. She was able to observe this with the Greens when they seemed to be on the way to becoming the strongest force in the federal government. There is experience on how to deal with such situations. The most important thing: You can't get rid of bad campaigns by complaining about them as bitterly as possible.

It is more helpful to avoid unnecessary attack surfaces from the outset. The rise of the Greens stalled long before the infamous hot-pot campaign, namely in the 2021 federal election campaign due to plagiarism in a book by Annalena Baerbock. The criticism of her was partly excessive, but excessive criticism can only exist where there is a reason for moderate criticism. If you don't have the capacity to write a proper book, you shouldn't. The Greens learned from this and professionalized themselves. They certainly didn't do everything right in the next election campaign, but they didn't make a mistake like that again.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

Stolen sentences in a mediocre non-fiction book are nothing compared to the point of attack that the left is currently providing. It was obvious that on election night critics would focus on a district association that is known for trivializing anti-Israel terror and organized crime. By the way, it's not reprehensible either. A party leadership cannot simply allow such an association to operate. At the very least, she should demand measures that minimize the risk of a scandal on one of the most important evenings in the party's history - starting with a tough door policy for the election party.

In a party in which discipline does not play a major role, this takes energy. But it takes even more effort to somehow reverse the damage that has now been done. And if you really want to govern, you have to manage your powers. After all, there is not only the unnecessary attack surface, but also the necessary one. Anyone who wants radical change in policy areas such as rent policy will face powerful headwind from those who don't want it. Self-pity doesn't help either. You really have to stand up to it.