Ex-Ruling Marxist Party of East Germany Surges With Support from Female and Young Voters

Germany’s socialist Die Linke party has seen its membership nearly double since the start of the year, largely driven by an influx of support from women and young people.

Die Linke (The Left), a direct descendant of the communist ruling party of the now-defunct East Germany during the Cold War, is gaining popularity, particularly among the youth and female voters.

The resurgence of Die Linke has also been notable in its growing popularity among those from Western Germany, who did not live under the Soviet-aligned government in East Germany and its repressive state apparatus, including the infamous Stasi police force.

While young and female voters in the affluent western regions of the country appear willing to back the Marxist party, the areas actually formerly led by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)—now Die Linke—have become strongholds for the populist right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

According to the Die Welt newspaper, The Left’s membership has soared to 115,623 members, up from 58,532 at the end of last year. This was driven by a strong shift among female voters, with the proportion of Die Linke’s female membership increasing by four points since 2024.

The Marxist party has also been successful in courting young voters, with nearly six in ten of its members being 35 years old or younger.

Despite being tied in the polls at fourth place with the Greens at 11 per cent, Die Linke still trails significantly in terms of party members, with the Greens having 180,000, the Social Democrats having 357,000, and the Christian Democratic Union having 364,200 members.

However, with its recent surge, The Left now has a clear advantage over the Alternative für Germany in terms of membership. Only around 52,000 people are paid-up members of the AfD, despite having more than double the electoral support in the polls of Die Linke.

This disparity is likely influenced by the efforts by the government to classify the AfD as an “extremist” organisation, which opens up the party to increased state surveillance.

Commenting on the figures, Die Linke leader Ines Schwerdtner described her party’s doubling of its memberships as an “incredible success” and said that “many new members wanted to take action for distributive justice, peace, socially just climate protection, and against political developments to the right.”

“What makes me particularly happy is that we have overtaken the right among young people and women,” Schwerdtner said. “We are now the youngest party in terms of average membership and the one with the highest proportion of women.”

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