Information on the 1st session of the 7th PDS Congress Cottbus, 14-15 October, 2000 The main topics of this congress, convened to the town of Cottbus in the East German land of Brandenburg, were drawing a balance of 10 years existence of the PDS, electing a new party chairperson and a new National Executive, deciding on the tasks of the party for the period till the next national elections in autumn 2002. After the chairmen of the party and its parliamentary group Lothar Bisky and Gregor Gysi in April announced their withdrawal from their posts, a change of generations in the leadership of the party has taken place at this congress. On the proposal of the National Executive the delegates with the overwhelming majority of 93.3 % elected Gabi Zimmer (45) as new PDS chairperson. This highest result ever in elections to this post is partly due to the fact that the candidate had successfully presented herself and her political credo at 10 regional party conferences all over Germany. Gabi Zimmer, a graduate translator, was member of the SED before 1989 but made her political career only with the founding of the PDS. For nearly 10 years she held the chair of the PDS organisation and its parliamentary group in the land of Thuringia. Under her leadership the party's election results rose from 9.7 % in 1990 to 21.4 % in 1999. With this gain of acceptance in society it won the 2nd place in the political spectrum after the governing CDU, leaving the SPD only the 3rd place with 18.5 %. Since 1997 Gabi Zimmer also held the post of a PDS vice chairperson. According to the quotation principle laid down in the party constitution the congress elected one woman and two men as vice chairpersons. These are Petra Pau (37), vice chair of the PDS parliamentary group, Dr Diether Dehm (50), acting already as vice chair, and Prof. Dr Peter Porsch (56), chair of the PDS organisation and its parliamentary group in Saxonia. Dr Dietmar Bartsch (42) and Uwe Hobler (43) were re-elected to the posts of party secretary and treasurer. The PDS National Executive as before consists of 18 members including the 6 named above and elected individually. 50 % of the members are newcomers. The quota of minimum 50 % women as demanded by the constitution has been fulfilled. The other members of the National Executive are: Dr Judith Dellheim (46), economist Dr Thomas Flierl (43), city councillor in the borough of Berlin Centre Helmut Holter (47), vice prime minister of the land of Mecklenburg/West Pomerania, chair of the PDS organisation of this land Dr Sylvia-Yvonne Kaufmann (45), MEP, deputy head of the GUE/NGL group in the European Parliament Dagmar Pohle (47), nurse, member of the PDS board of the land of Brandenburg Christian Schwarzenholz (48), member of the Landtag of Lower Saxony Edda Seifert (47), cultural scientist Dr Petra Sitte (39), head of the PDS group in the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt Marina Stahmann (40), director of the Youth association of the land of Bremen Ruzbeh Taheri (27), student, spokesman of the "solid" youth organisation, close to the PDS Sahra Wagenknecht (31), doctorand, Communist platform Harald Werner (60), staff member of the PDS Bundestag group, responsible for trade union policies and political alliances. Outgoing party chairman Lothar Bisky who held this post longer than his colleagues of all parties represented in parliament said in his enthusiastically applauded speech that he as well as Gregor Gysi does not intend to refrain from politics but to continue his political activities for the PDS. He advised the party to keep gaining profile as a party of peace, social justice and anti-fascism, an authentic defender of the interests of the people in East Germany. But, he stressed, the PDS should not confront itself with the West Germans but fight for social, ecological and democratic changes all over Germany. Lothar Bisky demanded that the PDS and all anti-fascist democratic forces should learn the lessons of history. While in the 1920s and 1930s communists and social democrats looked at each other as the main enemy the nazis took the upper hand. The present increase in right- wing extremist activities urgently calls for a closer co-operation of all democratic forces. Right-wing extremism was an all-German problem, Bisky stressed. The outgoing chairman expressed his belief in a socialist future for Germany. The PDS must draw a picture of a socialist society which is answering the dreams, hopes and longings of the people. Socialism can only grow out of society itself. Lothar Bisky assured all foreign partners that the PDS will stay an internationalist party. It is aware of the necessity that the Left in East and West, in North and South must create a counterweight to capital dominated globalisation. He expressed his thanks to the parties and movements who lent the PDS their support and solidarity in its hardest times. The PDS will continue to give the same solidarity to other parties and organisations. Newly elected party chair Gabi Zimmer demanded in her speech that the PDS must be a party of active tolerance, practical solidarity, pluralism and civilised debate. Such a party is needed to make Germany a land of more social justice, solidarity, education and culture, a country in the midst of Europe with close links to all its neighbours. The PDS has developed into a socialist people's party accepted not only by people of one social class or group, of one world outlook. The fact that it has been receiving in some regions of East Germany up to 40 % of the vote is due to its character as a people's party. The PDS must bring about stronger resistance of the people against the cooling of the social climate and growing profit dominance in the German society. Gabi Zimmer stated she does not see the danger of a "social-democratisation" of the PDS as in her view the value system presented by the social democrats has little to do with socialism. The PDS was no communist and no social democratic party but a party adhering to democratic socialism. It co-operates with the SPD where there is a chance to bring about real progress in creating jobs, securing good pensions, medical treatment and education for everybody. It refuses co-operation where the result would be cuts in social services, marginalisation of people, restriction of civil rights and liberties, reduction of the state's responsibility in the social sphere, gifts to the rich and to the big companies, carrying through German big power ambitions. In a principal motion under the headline "Germany needs more socialist politics" adopted by a big majority of the delegates, describing the aims of the party in the next elections on the municipal, regional and national levels, the PDS takes into consideration a centre left option in medium term German politics. As right extremist violence in Germany is alarmingly growing the congress discussed the essence of the problem and unanimously adopted a resolution on anti-fascist resistance actions. It called for the broadest possible alliances whose diversity and internal contradictions should be met with due consideration. As the problem is deeply rooted in the midst of society, any strategies must help creating a social climate ostracising all kinds of nationalism, xenophobia, racism and inhuman violence in Germany and everywhere in Europe. The 1st session of the 7th congress is to be considered a decisive point in the history of the party. After 10 years the period, when the PDS was struggling for its mere survival and finding its self, has come to an end. In competition and co-operation with other political forces in Germany the party now sees itself as part of this society which is to be transformed with a socialist perspective. The new chairperson and the new National Executive have got the mandate to develop the PDS as a force of left opposition and a promoter of reform alternatives, a socialist people's party. A special edition of the German language magazine "Disput" with all contributions and documents of the congress will be published on 27 October, 2000. _______________________________________________
