Is Die Linke left wing or right wing?

On economic organisation Die Linke scores −07 on a scale from −10 (common ownership) to +10 (private property and markets). On social and cultural order it scores −08. A single left–right figure combines these and four further measurements that move independently, which is why the atlas reports six.

Is Die Linke authoritarian?

On the organisation of power, which measures whether authority is dispersed among institutions that can stop each other or concentrated in a single centre, Die Linke scores −04. Constitutional parliamentary democracy; supports referendums and stronger data protection.

Atlas / Organisations / Die Linke

Die Linke

The Left · 2007– · Germany · Democratic Socialist · Electoral party · coding confidence high

−07ECcollective

−08CUpluralist

−04AUpluralist

+02SCcentral

−08IDuniversal

−03CHlawful

Each axis runs from −10 to +10, with zero a genuine mixed or balanced position rather than an absence of opinion. A score describes a stated position and a governing record; it is not a judgement of merit. What each score means →

Core principles

Redistribution, rent controls, opposition to military deployment, expansion of public ownership.

Economic model

Wealth tax, sharply higher minimum wage, nationalisation of energy and housing corporations, pension increases.

Organisation of powers

Constitutional parliamentary democracy; supports referendums and stronger data protection.

Reading note

Descends partly from the East German ruling party and is coded far from it on authority and method.

Check a claim about Die Linke. The interactive atlas measures the distance between any two organisations across all six axes and shows which ones carry the disagreement.

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The evidence for every score

All six cells are sourced. A rationale explains what the score is measuring and each artefact is something a third party can check without taking anyone's word for it.

EC · Economic organisation · scored −07

Coded −7: wealth tax, nationalisation of energy and housing corporations.

Programme textProgramme commitments to expropriate large residential landlords, following the 2021 Berlin referendum.

CU · Social and cultural order · scored −08

Coded −8: strongly liberal on migration, gender and drug policy.

Programme textSupports open borders in principle, self-identification for gender registration and cannabis legalisation.

AU · Organisation of power · scored −04

Coded −4: constitutional and pro-referendum, with a founding lineage in the East German ruling party.

Programme textProgramme supports binding federal referendums and stronger data protection.

SC · Scale of decision · scored +02

Coded +2: national redistribution with EU reform rather than exit.

Programme textOpposes EU fiscal rules while supporting European integration.

ID · Rule of membership · scored −08

Coded −8: among the most universalist positions in the Bundestag.

Programme textProgramme commits to abolishing deportation and to voting rights for long-term residents.

CH · Method and tempo · scored −03

Coded −3: entirely parliamentary.

Documented act or statuteHas governed in several state coalitions and held the minister-presidency of Thuringia.

Nearest organisations by measured distance

Straight-line separation across all six axes, out of a maximum of 49.0. Proximity means similarity of stated position, not endorsement and not resemblance in outcome.

Countries

Germany

Cite this page

Scores are revised on evidence, so a citation should carry the version it refers to. Version 4.3.1 is current; the revision log records every change.

McGrath, K. (2026). Die Linke. The Political Atlas, version 4.2. https://thepoliticalatlas.com/organisations/linke/ (accessed 2026-08-01).

Free to quote and reproduce with attribution. This is a synthesis rather than a peer-reviewed dataset — where an authoritative figure is needed, cite the Chapel Hill Expert Survey, the Manifesto Project or V-Dem.