Parlamentarische Linke

The Parlamentarische Linke (, abbreviated PL) is a platform within the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)'s Bundestag group. As of 2022, 96 of the group's 206 members belong to the Parliamentary Left, making it the largest of the three extant platforms in the SPD group, alongside the Seeheimer Kreis and Berlin Network. The Parliamentary Left represents social democratic positions within the party. The platform has three speakers: Matthias Miersch, Sönke Rix and Wiebke Esdar. Elisabeth Kaiser is the platform treasurer. Other prominent members include SPD group chairman Rolf Mützenich and party co-leader Saskia Esken. Profile The Parliamentary Left describes itself as "an association of social democratic members of the Bundestag". It represents the left wing of the Social Democratic Party, "advoca[ting] for freedom, equality and social progress". Their principles are essentially based on the party program that existed until the 1990s. To this end, the platform supports Keynesian approaches to economic and social policy. They were critical of the largely supply-side Agenda 2010 reforms of Gerhard Schröder's government, but officially called for their amendment rather than repeal. In the area of tax policy, the PL call for a higher inheritance tax and the reintroduction of the wealth tax. They reject proposals for a strict limitation of the national debt, and opposed the introduction of the debt brake. They support efforts to combat climate change, including internationally-agreed climate targets, strong investment in renewable energy, and changes to subsidies and taxes for this purpose. In light of the record debt taken on by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, the PL advocates a long-term move away from balanced budget principles, pushing for public investment in education, digitisation, and climate.