Thank you, Gregor. For Everything!

When the parliamentary group of DIE LINKE elects new chairs on Tuesday afternoon an era will find its end. Gregor Gysi takes his leave from the front row of the faction. He, thus, also leaves the front row of federal politics – match that as a leftist if you can! If we imagine politics as relay race with marathon distances one can record: After a long and hard race the baton will be passed in a very promising position. Before one even thanks the arriving runner for his achievments one wants to call at the ones accepting the baton: Make something of it!

Hailing the successors will be done by others well enough. I want to say thank you today. Thank you, Gregor, for having smoothed ways with your understanding of politics and your attitude towards people which would not be open without you. Since I am going on such a way right now, I very well know what I am talking about.

If someone has been so successful in politics like Gregor Gysi this is doubtlessly connected with a number of talents. For many people the first thing coming to mind will be his gift for speech, his perfect rhetorical sense. This is not about sugar coating. It is about explaining – about truly saying what is, in a way as much people as possible can understand, even if they don’t occupy themselves with politics all day but are busy working in one or more jobs to make ends meet. Not excluding those, that out of different reasons have nothing much to do with politics, can only be achieved with a language that is easily understood. Thus, already Gregor Gysi’s words are politics and as such not to be underestimated. Not now and not in the future. What also counts as talent of course: to pull the group together as parliamentary leader with many smart heads arguing passionately about the best ideas does also not work without a certain psychological ability.

The core idea of Gregor Gysi’s politics is always the social question. How do we integrate all people in society? What must we do so that everyone in this country can live with dignity? The starting point for any answer to these questions can only be the respect for the individual. And this respect is deeply rooting in Gregor Gysi. He does not care who he is facing because he respects anyone with his own story – no matter if it is a million-dollar manager, a supermarket cashier, or a homeless person. Being human counts.

It makes me proud to have shared a great part of political live with him. For four years I could experience Gregor in Bundestag at close range. He was a guest in Thuringia for numerous times. On December 5 last year he was sitting on the spectators’ stand of Thuringian Landtag and together with my family he crossed the fingers for a successful election of Minister-President. It was successful and having come thus far, is essentially due to him. There would be so much more to write about but for today maybe the most important shall suffice: Thank you, Gregor. For everything!