"We Can't Realistically Hope to Win"

DW-TV: Mr. Gysi, you're 57 years old, you're a solicitor, you were born in Berlin and after German unification you managed to transform the East German communist party, the SED, into the Party of Democratic Socialism, the PDS. Now the PDS has formed an alliance with politicians who broke away from Gerhard Schröder's governing Social Democratic Party. It is taking part in the general election under the new name of "Left Party," and almost out of nothing it has managed to get 11 to 12 percent in the opinion polls. How do you explain this lightning achievement?

Gregor Gysi: Well, it's not yet an election result, but opinion polls, and I'm cautious in these matters. When German unification came many familiar institutions in East Germany disappeared. We knew that if we'd dissolve the party as well, it would create an unmanageable chaos. But what we achieved then always had one big flaw: We were seen as a political party which had its roots in communist East Germany. Now we're in a situation where Gerhard Schröder and his SPD have governed for seven years in a way which has willy-nilly created a new need for leftist politics in Germany. Many people understand that neo-liberalism cannot be the solution to our problems.

What does the Left Party have to offer people? After all, the SPD didn't like to cut back on the welfare state in its seven years of government, but did it under great pains. What makes you so sure that you can do better?

Schröder after his speech to justify the vote of confidence he requested in parliament to trigger early elections on July 1

Well, I can't see that Gerhard Schröder suffered many pains, he has always looked pretty cheerful, and others, too. But if you tell me that you have seen them in agony, then I gladly take note of that.

Well, just look at the painful struggle for reform.

Yes, there were some people who suffered. But there were always the others, the protagonists of the neo-liberalist zeitgeist who said, "We can only revive the economy by cutting taxes for the rich and for big companies, and at the same time cutting back on the welfare state: cutting back on pensions and unemployment benefits and forcing the sick to pay more for the health service." We say: There is another way, and we prove its viability with examples like those of Britain, Sweden and other countries, and we say 'no' to the reforms here. Only when we regain some social justice, more social welfare, more real wage increases, only then can the economy recover.

But Germany's problem is that the welfare state has become too expensive. And you haven't come up with an answer to that, namely how the Left Party would keep the welfare state going, how it would pay for it.

Gysi's party wants to tax speculation on the stock market

Well, you haven't asked me yet. If you want to improve the welfare state you'll have to raise the money. So, we've proposed a new tax system which would enlist the business world in a reasonable way, especially big business. It means that we have to change our tax system. We want to introduce a stock market speculation tax and a wealth tax. We have worked it all out. The accusation that medium incomes would be taxed most in our system is rubbish. We have presented a tax system which would bring in at least 64 billion euros ($79.4 billion) a year. And we need the money because otherwise we won't be able to improve the welfare state and reduce public debt in order to keep to the Maastricht criteria. So, I think there's an exciting debate going on.

You talk about opposition to the neo-liberal mainstream, opposition to cuts in the welfare state. But why only opposition? Don't you want to carry out these policies in government?

It's not possible. We can't realistically hope to win more than 50 percent of the votes.

But you could aim for a coalition.

Did the German welfare state suffer because of the fall of the Berlin wall?