Berlin. Bundestag Vice President Bodo Ramelow (Left Party) has sharply criticized his own party leadership over its approach to capping lawmakers' allowances. In a letter to Left Party leaders Jan van Aken and Ines Schwerdtner, Ramelow accuses them of "political deception" and a "complete disregard" for a party conference resolution, Der Spiegel reports.
Germany's Left Party torn apart by bitter row over MPs' allowance caps
The dispute centers on a recent proposal by the Left Party executive board for the upcoming federal party conference in June, which would limit the gross allowances of Left Party members in the Bundestag and European Parliament to the current average wage in Germany. An additional €350 per child or dependent in need of care is included. Party co-chairs Schwerdtner and van Aken have already capped their own net salaries at €2,850, according to their own statements.
Ramelow sees the proposal—submitted last Saturday—as a "complete disregard" for an earlier party conference decision. In his letter to the leadership, he objects to the executive board's resolution, stating that he "firstly sees a risk of unconstitutional regulation and secondly believes it clearly violates the underlying resolution of our 2025 federal party conference."
A year ago, the Left Party resolved at its conference that the executive board should develop concepts for limiting the salaries of MPs at the European, federal, and state levels, as well as term limits for mandates. The resolution stated: "To implement these concepts, the executive board will propose amendments to the party statutes by 2027 at the latest, to be presented to the federal party conference." However, the current leadership proposal makes no mention of statutory changes—which would require a two-thirds majority at a party conference.
Ramelow has strongly condemned this omission. "I see the executive board's approach as a serious breach of trust, because the question of statutory amendments was significantly tied to the resolution passed in Chemnitz," he told Der Spiegel. His letter strikes a similarly harsh tone, calling the move "political deception."
He demands that the proposal be immediately suspended and reviewed by an arbitration commission. "Furthermore, I request that the proposal not be submitted to the federal party conference for a vote until the commission reaches a decision."
At the same time, Ramelow emphasized that he "explicitly supports" his party's rejection of "excessive allowances and automatic increases," as well as its commitment to donating "relevant portions of those allowances to social, cultural, and societal causes." He also stated that, in his view, it should go without saying that all party lawmakers must comply with party and faction decisions—including supporting them through donations.
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