Dear Comrades and friends/font>

On the eve of the 2 ^nd Session of the Left Party.PDS 9 ^th Congress taking place on 27 August, 2005 in Berlin we want to give you another information on the merger process of our party with the Election Initiative for Employment and Social Justice (German accronym WASG)./font>

The main task of the one-day congress is to adopt the electoral manifesto of the party and to use the large media presence for starting into the real hot phase of the campaign toward the 18 September Bundestag elections. The aim of our party is to get 8 % of the vote. Whatever the outcome will be, from 19 September on we shall go forward along the way towards a stronger political Left in Germany./font>

On 19 August, 2005 Lothar Bisky, chairman of the Left Party.PDS and Klaus Ernst, spokesman of the WASG, held a press conference to inform on the present situation in the merger process of the two organisations. They stated that although talks on this project started only two months ago and the unification of the two into a new party has not yet taken place, the idea and its hopeful implementation has been influencing the German political landscape in a considerable manner. /font>

Since the first contacts on 30 May, 2005 all efforts have been concentrated on achieving the best possible result in the early national elections. According to German electoral law, which allows only the participation of individual parties and strictly prohibits election alliances of parties, the PDS has decided to include WASG representatives and other left personalities into its open lists. To pave the way for this, especially in the federal states (lander) of the western part of Germany, the PDS at its extraordinary congress on 17 July has changed its name to “Left Party” with the possible appendix “PDS”. Meanwhile in all German lander Left Party.PDS congresses have adopted candidates’ lists for the elections. On 25 August the German constitutional court has pronounced its verdict that the dissolution of parliament and the call for early elections are in accordance with the Basic Law, thus clearing up the last doubt on this question./font>

People disappointed and frustrated by the neo-liberal course of the social democratic/green government politics and the lack of choice in the offers of the mainstream parties now see the chance to vote a strong left opposition force into parliament. The polls give it presently around 10 % of the vote. Media comments even see the result of the Left Party.PDS as the decisive outcome, influencing the composition of the next government coalition. As for the Left Party.PDS itself, its leaders declared on many occasions that they do not intend to enter any government coalition after these elections. /font>

After the confirmation of the two parties’ merger plans by the PDS extraordinary congress and a WASG party referendum, the two leaders at the press conference announced the next steps in this process. Immediately after the elections they will propose to the leading bodies of both parties to take the necessary decisions on the time frame and stages on this way. Common working groups shall be established to discuss on/font>

• political aims and strategies <//font>
• party building <//font>
• judicial and financial questions <//font>
• international relations. <//font>

At the moment it is to early to speculate on when the actual merger of the two parties will take place. Lothar Bisky stressed that the Left Party.PDS membership is expecting this work to be accomplished in a speedy, but responsible manner. Outsider prognoses speak of one to two years. Both parties agreed that they will not put forward competing candidates at elections any more – be it on the municipal or regional level. Party building activities – especially of the WASG in the western lander – will continue. Lothar Bisky informed that since the merger plans were made public 1700 new members in the east and west of Germany joint the Left Party.PDS. The WASG speaks of several thousand new entrances, rising its membership to 9-10 000./font>

Lothar Bisky underlined that the Left Party.PDS is approaching the merger with strengthened self-confidence. After a long discussion process the party has adopted in 2003 a modern socialist program which is open for development, but from which it can and will not step back. It has more than 6 000 deputies on all levels with rich experience in lander, towns and municipalities, in opposition and government work. It supports wide spread contacts and cooperation with associations and NGO’s especially in the eastern part of Germany. The WASG is closely linked to trade union circles in the western part and has a high competence in social matters. /font>

In the coming stage more cooperation of the two party’s members in practical political action as well as the smooth organisation of the new parliamentary group’s activities after the election will play a major part. More efforts are also needed in political education, to get a better mutual knowledge of each other’s history and politics. /font>

The aim is the unification of people of the German Left from East and West with different social backgrounds and political experience into a strong new party which is fighting against the neo-liberal model of society, is strengthening civil protest and advancing alternative solutions. /font>

Helmut Scholz/font>

International Co-ordinator/font>