Champagne Socialists from Germany: The Left voted for the abolition of the sparkling wine tax

With the words that the class struggle is also being waged at the regulars' table, a representative of the left-wing youth justifies his commitment to the abolition of the tax on sparkling wine. The party congress of the left includes the demand in the election manifesto.

After hours of deliberation, this item on the agenda really brought life to the party congress of the left: At the request of their youth organization "Solid", the delegates decided to campaign for the abolition of the sparkling wine tax. The Bundestag member Caren Lay pointed out that the tax was introduced at the beginning of the 20th century to finance the imperial navy. "That alone should be reason enough to vote for the abolition."

The speech was applauded by "Solid" representative Michael Neuhaus: "This program is our chance to initiate a change into a boozy time, because, yes, the class struggle is also waged at the regulars' table." With a view to the introduction of the tax in the German Empire, he said: "First the corks popped, then the cannons - it is not only a symbol of militarism, but also in essence an attack on the free, self-determined life that is hostile to pleasure. It contributes to the fact that the pearls of the spirits world are a status symbol of the bourgeoisie. Drinking champagne is like golfing or as I've always said: Drinking Rotkäppchen sparkling wine is a question of class. As the left we can no longer accept that.

With the sentence: "You have one minute to vote on sparkling wine instead of seltzer", Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff from the conference committee initiated the vote. 223 delegates finally voted in favor, 99 against, 23 abstained. "Down with the sparkling wine tax! There can be so much hedonism in a left wing election program!", Lay then wrote on Twitter.

However, delegate Axel Trost poured a little water into the sparkling wine: "I don't think we can get away with it really well when the Bild newspaper then says: 'Left-wing youth can now drink Rotkäppchen sparkling wine at a reduced price.' The vote took place in the course of the deliberations on the tax policy part of the election program, which is to be finally voted on on Sunday. The Left is calling for a wealth tax to deal with the consequences of the corona pandemic.

Source: n--tv.de