In The World After Gaza, Pankaj Mishra looks at the Israel-Palestine conflict since October 7, 2023 within a postcolonial framework. The reviews for the book were mixed. Not in the traditional sense though. The divided verdict reflects deep cleavages in our societies.

Growing up in East Berlin in the 1990s, Die Linke (or PDS, as it was known before) was omnipresent. Still the party’s most recognizable face, Gregor Gysi is still running and winning in my district (Treptow-Koepenick). I still get a sense of home and the past when I see him speak.

The complexities of the Wende / transition period after the Wall fell in 1989 found an important political outlay in the party, taking along (or trying to at least) a significant part of the East German population that found adjustment to the new system difficult.

Recently Die Linke has transformed itself into a more modern progressive party, increasing its appeal to younger generations. It thankfully saw a more national and populist wing under the leadership of Sarah Wagenknecht split from it ahead of the elections.

As a result, it staged a historic comeback from what seemed a certain sub-five percent vote to a respectable 8.8%. It also came in as the strongest party in Berlin.

It is good that their ideas, especially some of the more radical ones, will be represented in the German parliament and get some more airtime in the public discourse. Among these are that we should strive to live in a world without billionaires and that rents should be capped and housing socialized.