Gysi will not run again as President of the Party of the European Left

The President of the European Left, Gregor Gysi, declared at the Executive-Board meeting in Berlin: The election results of the European elections are both a warning and an invitation to us to make the European Left more attractive and to improve the value of our policies through better campaigning and more concrete, forward-looking proposals. It remains

The President of the European Left, Gregor Gysi, declared at the Executive-Board meeting in Berlin:

The election results of the European elections are both a warning and an invitation to us to make the European Left more attractive and to improve the value of our policies through better campaigning and more concrete, forward-looking proposals. It remains to be noted that election results must take account of the various national factors which require a detailed analysis. The elections were conducted nationally, there were no European lists. As a result, national issues dominated and a link with the European Left took place only marginally. The global perspective is not against the national one, both need only be connected and explained.

For us, it is important to further develop ideas for environmental protection in social sustainability. We must also work on our core themes of peace, social justice, the global distribution of wealth, anti-fascism and the rights of workers. Therefore the broad European Forum in Brussels from 8-10 November 2019, a gathering of progressive European forces, can play a crucial role.

As Party of the European Left, we barely offered a positive message, a vision for the future of Europe. In addition to the necessary criticism, we have to point out the possibility of a positive perspective. In other words, we need to sharpen our profile without giving up our plurality and breadth. This will be one of the main tasks of our Congress on December, 13-15 in Málaga, Spain, where I will not run again for president of the European Left. As President, I argued for European integration, which should become more democratic, more socially equitable and more ecologically sustainable. After three years as president, I want to make it possible to pass to the next generation.