Experts assess left-wing German politics

The state of left-wing politics in Germany will be the topic of a panel discussion Monday, Oct. 27, featuring political scientists from UW–Madison and UW-Parkside.

Thomas Baylis, a UW–Madison political science lecturer, and Jonathan Olsen, an assistant professor on the Parkside campus, will discuss the dilemmas faced by the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) in Germany at noon in 336 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive.

As the successor party to the communists who once ruled in the former East Germany, the PDS experienced a rising popularity in the eastern part of Germany during the mid-1990s. The party exerted considerable influence both in state party systems and in the political system in the German republic.

But the party lurched into a crisis following its poor showing in the 2002 national elections, and Baylis and Olsen will evaluate whether the PDS can reclaim its status as a significant national force on the left.

Baylis and Olsen will analyze the party’s policy positions, its internal struggles and the implications of its fight for survival on the future of German politics.