Germany's The Left Party on Saturday elected Luigi Pantisano alongside incumbent Ines Schwerdtner to lead the far-left party.
At a party conference in Potsdam, Pantisano, a member of parliament, secured just over 53% despite running unopposed, a weak result. He had wanted to obtain a vote of more than 70%.
Pantisano, 46, succeeds Jan van Aken, who set his party an ambitious goal as he stepped down. The Left should become a "people's party" and win 20% of the vote in the next general election, he said.
Van Aken, 65, was not running again for health reasons. He had led the party with Schwerdtner since 2024 and played a major role in its return to parliament in 2025. The Left Party won 8.8% of the vote and is now polling at 10% to 12%.
Schwerdtner was confirmed in office with almost 86%, a strong showing. The party has been gaining ground and now has around 126,000 members. Of the more than 500 delegates, around half are new members who joined after 2023.
Pantisano, the son of Italian immigrants, said in his inaugural speech that he is out to make waves. He told party members: I am "also trying to polarize - you will get that with me."
The new party co-leader compared Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), in a video interview with the tabloid Bild.
"Ultimately there is no difference right now between the CDU, which is pursuing fascist policies, the AfD, or the fascists themselves."
When asked about that, Pantisano clarified and said the wording was unfortunate.
"That's an oversimplification," he told dpa. "The point is that parties like the CDU adopt the AfD's wrong-headed policies, which only makes the AfD stronger."
