Heidi Reichinnek | |
|---|---|
 Reichinnek in 2025 | |
| Leader ofThe Left in theBundestag | |
| Assumed office 20 February 2024 Serving with Sören Pellmann | |
| Preceded by | Dietmar Bartsch |
| Member of theBundestag forLower Saxony | |
| Assumed office 27 September 2021 | |
| Leader ofThe Left inLower Saxony | |
| Assumed office 2 March 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Pia Zimmermann |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1988-04-19)19 April 1988 (age 37) |
| Political party | The Left (since 2015) |
| Alma mater | Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (AB) University of Marburg (MA) |
Heidi Reichinnek (German:[ˈhaɪdiˈʁaɪçinɛk];[1] born 19 April 1988) is a German politician andMember of the Bundestag for the left-wing partyDie Linke. Since 2024, she has been serving as the Leader of Die Linke in theBundestag, alongsideSören Pellmann.
Reichinnek became interested in politics as a teenager, opposing theHartz reforms and supporting women's equality and social welfare. At university, she spent a semester abroad inCairo in the midst of theArab Spring and witnessed theEgyptian revolution, which furthered her interest in politics. Reichinnek joinedDie Linke (The Left) in 2015 and was elected to the city council ofOsnabrück the following year.[2] She ran in the2017 Lower Saxony state election, and placed seventh on the party list, but was not elected. In 2019, she became chairwoman of The Left'sLower Saxony branch.[3]
She contested theconstituency ofOsnabrück City in the2021 federal election. She came in fifth place but was elected to theBundestag on the state list.[4] Within the party, she was considered a supporter ofSahra Wagenknecht, and in 2019 signed an open letter thanking Wagenknecht for her political work.[5] At the federal Left congress in June 2022, Reichinnek ran unsuccessfully for the party co-leadership, winning 199 votes (35.8%) to incumbentJanine Wissler's 319 (57.5%).[6]
In February 2024, Reichinnek was elected co-leader of the Left's reorganised Bundestag group alongsideSören Pellmann, defeatingClara Bünger 14 votes to 13.[7]
She was nominated as one of two leading candidates for The Left in the2025 German federal election, along with party co-leaderJan van Aken.[8]
In January, Reichinnek went viral for her speech in the Bundestag, when she condemned theChristian Democratic Union (CDU) for collaborating with the far-rightAlternative for Germany when they both tried to pass a bill pushing harsher restrictions on illegal immigrants; where she accused the CDU for what she called "paving the way for the resurgence of fascism". The video gained over thirty million views on TikTok, and is attributed for the boost of the left's support in the polls and among the leftist youth in early 2025, just prior to the upcoming election. Reichinnek's campaign appearances and speeches surged in attendance, withDie Tageszeitung referring to her as the party's "social media star".[9][10]
As leader, Reichinneks goal is to end capitalism,[11] and thus has prioritized addressing economic inequality in Germany, including nationalizing housing without compensation, legalizing hard drugs, doubling unemployment benefits, and imposing stricter rent limits.[12] Reichinnek supports progressive social policies, such as being a supporter of artificial insemination, the recognition of all genders, easier access to gender-affirming care, and support of "queer trade unions"; she has also criticized fellow leftistSahra Wagenknecht after Wagenknecht opposed legislation to support trans rights.[12] Reichinnek also supports increased economic redistribution, accepting refugees seeking asylum in Germany, and the decriminalization of abortion.[13]
Reichinnek has asleeve tattoo ofMarxist historical iconRosa Luxemburg on her arm.[12]
Reichinnek is increasingly active onsocial media, and has over 1 million followers across social media platforms.[14] With her political, sometimes provocative, short videos, Reichinnek achieved one of the highest reaches of any politician on the video portalTikTok.[15] Through a speech that Reichinnek delivered as a result of the debate about the Influx Limitation Act – often received as a "firewall speech"[16][17][18] – she garnered millions of views on social media and increased her follower count onInstagram from 130,000 to 288,000 and on TikTok from 348,000 to 460,000.[17]Stern reported that her social media posts would provide the party a "needed boost" before the 2025 federal election.[19]
The rappers MC Smook and Fruity Luke released the songHeidi Reichinnek (Freestyle) in January 2025.[20] The lyrics contain a mention of Reichinnek by name, stating: "Give it to the poor, give it to the middle, take it away from the rich - when I think, I want to think like Heidi Reichinnek - yes, I dismiss all the right-wing nonsense."[21] Reichinnek and the two rappers also appeared in a joint TikTok video.[21]
Media related toHeidi Reichinnek at Wikimedia Commons
