The second guest in transform!’s series “Meeting the Left” was Katja Kipping, Co-Chairperson of the party Die LINKE. The conversation largely focussed on European politics.
Kipping pointed out that solidarity is necessary for Europe, and that it would also be in German interest since German economy is largely dependent on exports and therefore on Europe. She talked about her party’s reaction to the idea of Coronabonds, which could be used to alleviate the economic burden which fell upon the poorer EU members and upon those hit the most by the pandemic.
According to Kipping, the situation was at a critical point even before the pandemic; it is high time to strengthen the social dimension of the EU politics and increase the taxation of international corporations.
Beside solving social and economic problems “Europe must emancipate itself from NATO and should play a role in advocating disarmament. The EU should not copy the USA and not endeavour becoming a new world power”, she said.
Mašina had the opportunity to interview Katja Kipping during her 2017 visit to Belgrade, Serbia. You can read the interview here.
“Meetings with the Left” is a series of conversations with the leading figures of European left parties organized by Transform, a network of European leftist organizations. You can watch the interviews live via Zoom app, and you can stay informed on the next conversations via Transform’s Facebook page. Recordings of all conversations will be available later on Mašina’s web page.
A.J.
Translation from Serbian: Iskra Krstić
This article was originally published in Serbian on May 20, 2020.
