A son of Calabrian immigrants is set to become the new leader of Die Linke, Germany's far-left party. Luigi Pantisano, 46, will run at the party congress in June to replace Jan van Aken, who abruptly stepped down for health reasons. If elected, as appears likely, he will be the first politician of Italian descent to lead a party in Germany. Der Spiegel, a weekly magazine, prominently reported the news. Die Linke gained 2.7% in the 2024 European elections but rose to 8.8% in last year’s snap elections. According to the most recent surveys, if the vote were conducted tomorrow, it may win 11 or 12 percent, nearly equaling the SPD, which continues to lose votes. He is consistently portrayed as an extremist, but he possesses a dual personality that unites disillusioned Social Democrats and post-communists. He frequently demonstrates a more pragmatic and reasonable approach than the Greens and certain segments of the SPD. He cares about the environment, but employment comes first. Pantisano was born in Waiblingen, a suburb of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, population 57,000. He graduated from architectural school in Tokyo. Last year, he was elected to the Bundestag.