1. Bernd Riexinger was born on 30 October 1955 and is a German politician of the left party Die Linke and member of the Bundestag representing Baden-Wurttemberg.
19 Facts About Bernd Riexinger
1. 2.
Bernd Riexinger is a member of the Initiative for networking between trade union leftists and is active in the Social Forum movement in Germany.
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In 2003, Bernd Riexinger was among the initiators of mass protests against the Agenda 2010 of the federal government at that time.
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Bernd Riexinger joined Labour and Social Justice, a left-wing splinter of the Social Democrats.
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Bernd Riexinger served as the party's regional chairman in Baden-Wurttemberg until WASG merged into The Left in 2007.
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Bernd Riexinger is affiliated with the Socialist Left, a strongly socialist faction within The Left which is classified as left-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
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Bernd Riexinger is thus considered a representative of the left-wing of the party.
8.
On 30 May 2012, Bernd Riexinger announced that he would run for the position of chairman of The Left.
9.
Bernd Riexinger became co-chairperson alongside Katja Kipping, who was elected in a separate vote.
10.
Kipping, as the designated female co-chair, was succeeded by Janine Wissler; Bernd Riexinger was succeeded by Susanne Hennig-Wellsow.
11.
Bernd Riexinger announced in December 2024 that he would not be seeking re-election in the 2025 federal election.
12.
In European monetary policy, Bernd Riexinger opposes a return to national currencies and proposals for a European monetary system with coordinated national currencies.
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Bernd Riexinger seeks the formation of a left-wing "third pole against the neoliberal EU and rampant right-wing populism," and emphasises the importance of solidarity, internationalism, radical democracy, and class consciousness to create a "Europe from the bottom up".
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Bernd Riexinger stated that Germany, as the largest economy in Europe, should support weaker economies hit hard by the pandemic.
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Bernd Riexinger claimed that failing to support struggling states would benefit Eurosceptic and right-wing populist forces.
16.
At the party congress in June 2018 in Leipzig, Bernd Riexinger advocated "safe, legal paths to asylum and open borders", distancing himself from the conservative positions of parliamentary group leader Sahra Wagenknecht, who criticised Bernd Riexinger's statements.
17.
In July 2019, Bernd Riexinger told Funke Mediengruppe that he supports blanket nationalisation of all airlines, claiming that a market-based approach is insufficient to manage the high impact of air travel on the climate.
18.
In March 2020, Bernd Riexinger attended a panel discussion at a state party conference in Kassel.
19.
Bernd Riexinger apologised, claiming the audience member's comment was "obviously ironic," but stated his regret that he had not unequivocally rejected the prospect.