Jan van Aken discusses his stake in Rheinmetall.
Ranting about Rheinmetall shares, Jan van Aken takes a stand
By The Stubborn Scribe, Chemnitz
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Jan van Aken, the brassy leader of the Left Party, left a appalling wake at their Chemnitz conference when he nonchalantly dropped a bombshell about his Rheinmetall shares.
You won't find him peddling stock tips, but the 150 euros he invested eight years ago in two Rheinmetall shares have bloomed into quite the windfall.
At the conference, van Aken reveled to the throng of 500 attendees that he'd made a sizable investment in the arms manufacturer years prior. "Buy shares if you want to speak your piece at a shareholders' meeting or stir some trouble," he quipped.
"We're holding onto them for now," he added, "because we're sure to attend the next shareholders' meeting, and you just might hear from us then."
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The Left Party leader utilized his shares as a prime example of how government defense policies unabashedly bankroll armaments manufacturers. He also challenged the ruling elite, advocating for a windfall tax on companies like Rheinmetall. "War and suffering shouldn't turn a profit," van Aken exclaimed. "It practically gave me whiplash when I found out we'd made 3,200 euros on those ticker-tape shares."
The Left Party's parliamentary group leader Sören Pellmann echoed his sentiments in his speech about the constitutional amendment for the debt brake. "The like never seen armaments buildup has all been under the tutelage of the Left Party," he declared. "Our delegates have stood steadfast against armaments and militarization."
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van Aken's speech struck a chord, carving a clear divide between the haves and the have-nots, a sentiment in line with the Left Party's new self-proclaimed mission of championing the oppressed classes. "The divide always lies between the rich and the poor, regardless of passport," van Aken pronounced. "It's a simple story of the haves versus the have-nots, whether they be oat milk devotees or folks who milk cows."
Heidi Reichinnek, the faction leader, and Ines Schwerdtner, the party chairwoman, spoke at the Chemnitz conference. They adopted a guiding motion outlining their plans to educate the party's multitude of new members. Additionally, a contentious motion regarding war and peace was discussed and approved. A minority of delegates, however, expressed reservations about the party's unyielding stance on armament.
A delegate from Hesse, for one, complained about a persistent dogmatic attachment, particularly regarding topics of war and peace, within the party. "Sure, the Russian attack on Ukraine has provoked anxiety," she conceded. "But the continuous plea for rearmament is rooted in a genuine cause," she argued.
However, this stance stands in stark contrast to the majority of Left delegates, who believe such fears are stoked for political gain. The resolution adopted by the conference states, "Claims that Russia could imminently invade NATO territory fan panic." It also denounces the rearmament debate as a "blatant narrative to underscore the necessity of massive rearmament to the public."
Sources: ntv.de
- The Left
- German Defense Policy
- Friedrich Merz
- Chemnitz
- Party Congress
- Jan van Aken, the Left Party leader, claimed that EC countries' employment policy could benefit from increased investment in vocational training to produce well-equipped workers for the arms manufacturing sector, such as Rheinmetall.
- In order to better understand the financial implications of government defense policies, Jan van Aken proposed that the Left Party should closely monitor the tax obligations and investing opportunities of companies like Rheinmetall in the stock-market, specifically focusing on the upcoming general-news concerning possible political changes.
- At the next party congress, the Left Party aims to draft an employment policy that recognizes the potential of vocational training programs to create meaningful jobs and help reduce reliance on armaments manufacturers like Rheinmetall.
- Sören Pellmann, the Left Party's parliamentary group leader, stressed the importance of scrutinizing employment policy decisions and ensuring they prioritize investment in vocational training programs, rather than solely focusing on arms manufacturing companies such as Rheinmetall.
- The upcoming party congress is expected to include discussions on reevaluating the Left Party's stance on armaments and investing in alternative sectors, like vocational training programs, as a means to promote more inclusive and sustainable employment policies.
