European Left Alliance | ELA steps into the spotlight

Li Andersson, the charismatic leader of the Finnish left-wing alliance Vasemmistoliitto, summed it up: "The greatest threat to democracy, peace, human rights, and international law is the rise of right-wing politicians: Putin, Trump, Netanyahu, Erdoğan, and Orbán." The politician, who is also a member of the European Parliament and chair of its Social Affairs Committee, said this at the first congress of the European Left Alliance for the People and the Planet (ELA). The war in Ukraine, Trump's America-first policy and his dismantling of democracy in the US, the rise of right-wing extremist forces, and, of course, Israel's wars in the Middle East – these were the central themes at the alliance's meeting in Porto. The motto of the multi-day deliberations: "For a stronger left against the extreme right." Representatives from all ELA member parties were present, including the host Bloco de Esquerda, the party La France insoumise (France), the Swedish Vänsterpartiet, Vasemmistoliitto from Finland, Podemos (Spain), the Danish Enhedslisten and Razem from Poland.

For them, it was a long political journey to Portugal. In February of last year, the current ELA members – then still under the name Now the People , a group initiated by French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon in 2019 – met in Copenhagen. On the sidelines of this meeting, those parties that were still involved in the Party of the European Left (EL) at that time agreed to withdraw from this alliance, which had existed for more than two decades. The motives for this were, on the one hand, the significantly more confrontational stances of some northern European left-wing parties towards Russia and, on the other hand, the demand for military support for Ukraine, for which there is no majority within the EL. On the other hand, and this is perhaps the more crucial point, large and electorally successful parties such as La France insoumise and Vasemmistoliitto saw themselves underrepresented in the leadership bodies of the European Left Party and criticized the rigid structures and inefficient working mechanisms of the EL – which, however, has been working on reforms for several months and has already presented some results of this process, such as the introduction of a dual leadership.

Against this backdrop, the seven-party alliance applied to the EU authorities for registration as a European political party in August of last year. "The alliance unites left-green, feminist parties with the goal of building a different Europe," the proposed statute states. The points listed for this purpose are social progress and labor rights, peace, solidarity and equality, climate justice, and environmental protection. The new party aims to fight against "neoliberal dogmas," the preamble emphasizes. The approval from the EU authorities followed shortly thereafter.

Nevertheless, ELA remained relatively invisible in the following months. This has now changed with the Porto Congress. With topics such as the creation of an anti-fascist international, the safeguarding of labor rights and climate protection, and feminist and anti-racist struggles, the alliance focused on central and current issues. At the center of this was the creation of lasting peace solutions for Ukraine and, of course—given the dramatic escalation of tensions immediately before the congress—for the Middle East. Specifically, ELA has agreed to launch an international campaign to stop the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Such topics are also on the agenda of the Left Group in the European Parliament, The Left. The Left Group includes members from parties affiliated with the ELA, as well as parliamentarians who have their home in the EL. Co-group leader Martin Schirdewan told "nd" that this does not pose a problem for their work. It remains unclear, however, whether there will be cooperation between EL and ELA that goes beyond the joint parliamentary work within the Left Group in the European Parliament.

It's also unclear whether there will be further shifts between the left-wing alliances. The German Left Party is also undecided on this issue. Membership in the EL is already stipulated in paragraph 1 of the party's statutes. However, the relationship with EL and ELA has been scheduled to be discussed at several party conferences, but has been repeatedly postponed. Perhaps also because there are supporters of both alliances within the Left Party, and the desire to avoid another point of conflict within the party is to be avoided.

It may have been a coincidence that on the very weekend of the first ELA Congress, a paper addressing precisely this question was submitted to the Left Party executive committee. It was drafted by a "Europe Working Group" led by EL co-founder and long-time MEP Helmut Scholz. The paper advocates that the German Left use its potential and reputation to counteract the polarization and fragmentation of European left-wing forces. A broad intra-party debate on the Left's European policy orientation is also necessary. Decisions on this are expected at the 2026 party conference—which would likely also mean a shift toward ELA or remaining in the EL.

Janis Ehling, federal executive director of the Left Party, sees it similarly: "We as the Left Party are also somewhat of a mediator; we want the Left to work together in Europe. And we can do that with parties in both families." In general, Ehling, who was present in Porto, certainly saw the congress as a new beginning. "ELA addressed the truly difficult issues of our time, with the development of the right, counter-strategies, and the shared learning process." This and the mutual exchange were the focus, he said. A potential conflict between ELA and EL, however, was not on the agenda.