Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance
Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit | ||
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State Parliaments | 47 / 1,898 | |
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^ A: BSW is widely considered far-left[7] and a radical left party,[8] but is also described as left-wing or left-conservative; the latter label is due to its more conservative stances on socio-cultural issues. |
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (German: Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit [beː.ɛsˈveː], BSW) is a political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as left-wing populist, nationalist, socialist, culturally conservative, socially conservative and Eurosceptic. The party is sceptical of green politics and support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War, and has been described as Russophilic.[4][9][10] The party's political positions have been described by its opponents as a mixture of right and left wing extremism.[11]
The party originated as a split from the party The Left (Die Linke). In September 2023, Sahra Wagenknecht, Amira Mohamed Ali, Christian Leye, Lukas Schön, and several other long time Left party members announced their intention to form a new party.[12][13][14] It was subsequently joined by others including former Left party leader Klaus Ernst, Fabio De Masi, and former mayor of Düsseldorf Thomas Geisel. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance was officially founded in January with Wagenknecht and Mohamed Ali as its leaders.
The BSW contested its first elections in May. In June, the party won 6.1% of votes nationally in the European Parliament elections. In September, it won between 11% and 16% in three eastern state elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg.[15]
History
Background
Wagenknecht, who has been described as a prominent left-wing politician,
Speculation increased in the run-up to the 2023 Hessian state election and the 2023 Bavarian state election on 8 October, in which The Left failed to reach the 5% electoral threshold while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged in both.[19] The success of the AfD led Wagenknecht to claim that a left-wing populist party could compete with the AfD while also respecting the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany.[20]
Sahra Wagenknecht blames Die Linke's successive electoral failures (the party's national share of the vote having fallen from 12% in 2009 to 5% in 2021) on its emphasis on policies to combat
Association registration
The association BSW – Für Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit e.V., based in Karlsruhe, was entered in the association register at the district court in Mannheim on 26 September 2023.[22] In mid-October, over fifty members of The Left submitted an application for Wagenknecht's exclusion from the party in order to prevent her from building a new party with the resources of The Left.[23]
Members of the party and political commentators blamed the ongoing speculation about the founding of a new party and the resulting breakup of the Left for its poor results in the state elections.[19] Martin Schirdewan, federal chairman of The Left and co-chair of The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL, declared that the party would expel members who committed to the founding of a rival party by BSW.[24] The Federal Executive Board of The Left passed a resolution of incompatibility (Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss) with BSW.[25]
Shortly after the press conference was announced, a fake website was registered under www.bswpartei.de that presented itself as the official website of the party, using copyrighted imagery and Wagenknecht's office address in its imprint. Wagenknecht filed a criminal report against the website, which is now offline. It is still unclear who created it.[26]
Members of BSW in the German Bundestag want to continue working as a parliamentary group and have submitted a corresponding application to the President of the Bundestag. When the Wagenknecht Group was constituted in the Bundestag on 11 December 2023, Wagenknecht was elected its chairman, Klaus Ernst its deputy chairman, and Jessica Tatti its parliamentary managing director. The association also started being represented in the Berlin House of Representatives, by Alexander King, the Hamburg Parliament, by Metin Kaya and, the Parliament of Rhineland-Palatinate by Andreas Hartenfels, a former member of Alliance 90/The Greens.
Party foundation
The party was officially founded on 8 January 2024, followed by a two hour long press conference.[28][29] This formation process saw the creation of a new website and the publishing of the first party manifesto for BSW. The party also named its lead candidates for the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany and announced that it had already created a full list of candidates due to be approved at the first party conference.[30]
The University of Potsdam developed a political test, BSW-O-Mat (name being a reference to the Wahl-O-Mat by the bpb), based on the first party manifesto. The test was released on the same day as the manifesto.[31][32]
It was announced on 1 December 2023 that the first party conference is planned to be held on 27 January 2024.[33] Ralph Suikat also commented at the time, that the association had thus far received an amount of donations in the seven figures,[34][35] this was later clarified to be 1.4 million Euros collected during the whole of 2023. The majority (90%) of which were small donations, only 12,000 € in total were donated from non-EU foreign countries, thereof 75 € in total from Russia.[36]
On 27 January 2024, the party held it first party conference and invited 450 of its founding members. The party elected its executive committee and formulated a draft program for the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany, which included criticisms of the European Union in its current form and demands for more decision-making power to the member states and significant restriction of migration to Germany.[37] The party won six seats, and saw particular strength in East Germany.[38]
In September 2024, BSW faced its first large electoral test in Landtag elections in the states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.[39] In Saxony and Thuringia, the BSW came in third place.[40]
2024 state elections in East Germany
In September 2024, BSW faced its first large electoral test in Landtag elections in the states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.[39] In Saxony and Thuringia, the BSW came in third place.[40] In Brandenburg, the BSW competed with largely unknown candidates. Although 13 BSW candidates were elected to the state parliament on September 22, their names were missing from the state party's homepage before and after the election.[41]
Intra-party structure
The BSW has a unique organisation compared to other parties in Germany. Compared to its electoral performance, it has a small and intentionally limited membership base. Unlike other parties, BSW distinguishes between full members and "registered supporters". Applicants for membership must be vouched for by an existing member, and all applications must be approved by the party's federal executive board. In March 2024, the party had 17,000 registered supporters, 8,000 applications for membership, and 500 full members. The party aimed to have 1,000 members by the end of the year, and only around 2,000 by the 2025 German federal election. At that time, Wagenknecht explained: "We just make sure that no one comes in who doesn't share our program or who would appear destructive and chaotic."[42][43]
Journalists were barred from the founding conferences of the state associations in Lower Saxony and Bremen.[44]
State branches
State | Chairpersons | Founded | Members |
---|---|---|---|
Berlin[45] | Alexander King Josephine Thyrêt |
14 July 2024 | 81 |
Brandenburg[46] | Robert Crumbach | 25 May 2024 | 40 |
Bremen | Christopher Schulze Alper Iseri |
14 September 2024 | 24 |
Lower Saxony | Thorsten Renken Holger Onken |
16 September 2024 | 62 |
North Rhine-Westphalia | Amid Rabieh Jan Ristau |
7 September 2024 | 113 |
Rhineland-Palatinate | Sina Listmann Alexander Ulrich |
22 September 2024 | 55 |
Saarland[47] | Astrid Schramm | 22 March 2024 | 24 |
Saxony[48] | Sabine Zimmermann Jörg Scheibe |
24 February 2024 | 60 |
Saxony-Anhalt | John Lucas Dittrich Thomas Schulze |
7 September 2024 | 46 |
Thuringia[49][50] | Katja Wolf Steffen Schütz |
15 March 2024 | 80 |
Ideology and platform
Academic and media descriptions
The BSW has been variously described as populist,[10][51] socialist,[4] economically socialist,[16] anti-capitalist,[52] cultural conservative,[5] social-conservative,[53] anti-immigration,[58] left-wing populist,[2] left-wing nationalist,[3] Eurosceptic,[6] and left-conservative.[16] The latter label is used in part due to its far-left economic positions and right-wing stances on some social issues,[59] which have been described by Wurthmann as being popular among anti-establishment and right-leaning voters.[60] The British Journal of Politics and International Relations classified BSW as a part of the European radical left, and noted that the party originates from the "reform communist" faction within Die Linke led by Wagenknecht, which was in conflict with the democratic socialist majority faction.[8]
In response to descriptions of the party as far right or socially right-wing, political scientist Thorsten Faas said that Wagenknecht was still a politician with a left-wing profile, even within the Left Party, and commented: "I would be a bit cautious about that, because it is of course a clearly left-wing project. This is certainly not a politician who represents a right-wing position."[61] Similarly, Aiko Wagner describes BSW as a "as a socio-economic left-wing and socio-cultural right-wing party", which he classifies as left-wing authoritarian.[62] Political scientist Thorsten Holzhauser classifies the party as syncretic, arguing that the party is not a classic left-wing or socialist party but represents, among others, some social-democratic, conservative and even ordoliberal positions.[63] Political scientist Hajo Funke rejects labelling BSW as either syncretic or right-wing, arguing that the party is "pragmatic, socially and economically left-wing, and peace-policy-oriented." Funke also questions the "left-wing conservative" label, arguing that the conservative positions of the BSW such as restrictive attitude towards immigration reflect "the consensus of the established democratic parties".[64]
On the left–right political spectrum, the party is widely regarded as a far-left party.[7][16][65][66] Some also consider it left-wing,[51][67] while others argue that the party is conservative on some cultural issues such as immigration;[59] this combination of stances has been compared to those of Old Left parties such as the Socialist Party (SP) in the Netherlands and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE).[16] Sarah Wagner, a lecturer in political science at Queen's University Belfast, and a former postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mannheim, who has studied Wagenknecht's political rise, commented: "We can't really say exactly how many people align themselves with left-conservative values. But what we can say is that it's a significant group. We have never seen this combination in a party in Germany before."[16]
Policies and political positions
The political positions of the BSW include further restrictions on immigration, a plan for deglobalisation, opposition to green politics, ending military aid to Ukraine, and a negotiated settlement to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Wagenknecht considers the BSW to stand primarily in opposition to Alliance 90/The Greens. In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Wagenknecht stated that her party is "obviously not right-wing", instead being left-wing in the sense of "striving for more social justice, good wages, decent pensions" and "a foreign policy that returns to the tradition of détente instead of relying more and more on the military card".[68] However, Wagenknecht omitted the label left-wing (links) within the name of the new party, saying that "many people today associate [it] with completely different content" and with "elitist debates", and that the BSW would appeal to a "broad spectrum of potential voters".[69] Wagenknecht felt that The Left had become socially liberal and what she called "left-lifestyle" rather than left-wing, and accused progressives in The Left of being "too focused on diet, pronouns, and the perception of racism" as opposed to "poverty and an ever-growing gap between rich and poor."[16][51]
The BSW supports
The party's economic proposals include the demand to break away from the capitalist system, redistribution of wealth and economic interventionism. The main economic theme of the party is social justice - it presents itself as a defender of the poor and proposes social measures to protect the disadvantaged groups. It calls for an economically oriented towards "the common good", advocated a fair wage policy and extensive social security system. For BSW, the main reason behind current wealth inequality were neoliberal reforms and globalisation, which oriented the economy towards low-paid basic service jobs, which became the majority of the workers. This also marked the emergence of "knowledge societies" composed of elite universities' graduates, which do not experience economic hardship. Accroding to BSW, markets and competition are no longer functioning, as "financial groups" consolidated power and have imposed their laws on society and "destroyed democracy". The party advocates a new economic system where the market would be severely limited, and where the groups that hitherto dominated it would be broken.[72]
Cultural issues
The party is considered to have some culturally conservative stances, such as its opposition to immigration, scepticism to gender-inclusive language, and trans rights.[73] The party presents its anti-immigration stance as a way to protect the German welfare state, arguing that it needs social solidarity to function that mass immigration could disturb. Wagenknecht argued: "The stronger the welfare state, the more of a sense of belonging there must be. Because if people have no connection to those who receive social benefits, then at some point they will refuse to pay for those benefits."[74]
Wagenknecht considers supporting immigration a "market liberal" stance rather than a left-wing one, arguing: "[t]he CDU of Angela Merkel stands for flexibility, economic liberalism, globalisation and high levels of migration, i.e. a policy that weakens cohesion and valuable mutual connections that previously offered people security and support". The party believes that immigration is exploitative as it represents a net loss for countries of origin, seeing it as a "convenient way for rich countries to cream off human resources". At the same time, the BSW argues that immigration lowers the qualify of life in Germany due to not only welfare expenses, but also lack of places in schools and housing. To Wagenknecht, welfare state is based on citizens' loyalty and their willingness to pay taxes, and "if there is no longer any difference between citizens and non-citizens of a country, there is of course no longer any duty of a state to protect its population in a special manner". She argues that the result is a removal of welfare and social support.[75]
The party is highly critical of gender-inclusive modifications of the German language. Wagenknecht argued that while everyone "should live their own way", Germany has an issue where "people with a traditional family no longer feel valued and someone who is white, male and heterosexual almost has to apologize for it". She advocated a "gender ban" in schools and public institutions on example of the one enacted in Bavaria by Markus Söder, which enforces the usage of traditional German grammar in regards to gender.[76] The party is also against loosening regulations on legally changing one's gender; Wagenknecht believes that such a law "turns parents and children into guinea pigs for an ideology that only benefits the pharmaceutical lobby."[74]
Wagenknecht seeks to distance herself and her party from what she considers "lifestyle leftists" that focus on identity politics and "an attitude of moral superiority", at the cost of neglecting blue-collar workers and the poor. She argues that mainstream left-wing parties abandoned "globalisation losers", which she defines as workers disadvantaged by migration pressures and overseas market competition. Wagenknecht identifies this "lifestyle leftism" as the main reason behind the rise of right-wing populism in Europe:
Left liberal arrogance nurtures rightist gains of [political] territory. As noisier the rightist attacks, as more left liberals feel justified in their position. Nazis oppose migration? Thus, every critic of migration must be a crypto Nazi… [i]nstead of addressing … majorities with a programme attractive to them, [the] SPD and Left party have helped the AfD to electoral triumphs, turning it into the leading “workers’ party”. In an altogether submissive manner, they also accepted the Greens as intellectual and political avant-garde. This removed them [leftists] from any chance to win a majority on their own.[75]
The BSW accuses other left-wing parties of elitism and the "new education privilege", stating that they have become dominated by urban academia and no longer represent the lower socioeconomic classes of society. The party stresses solidarity, contrasting the "somewheres" - workers that feel attachment to particular states and regions - with "anywheres", the "globalised elites". The party puts an emphasis on traditional family values and regional identities, criticizing
China
The party is described as pro-China.[77] The BSW also strongly supports the economic and industrial policies of the Chinese Communist Party, describing them as "an exemplary model for how to manage a national economy".[78] The BSW strongly criticizes the involvement of German troops in the South China Sea, opposing proposals to deploy ships there and calling for negotiations instead.
European Union and globalisation
The party is highly skeptical of globalisation and European integration, criticizing the European Union as vulnerable to lobbying, undemocratic in its decision-making system, and economically unfair to the lower classes.[79]
Israel–Palestine conflict
Amidst the Israel–Hamas war, Wagenknecht described the Gaza Strip as an "open-air prison".[80]
Renewable and nuclear energy
BSW also focuses on energy police, criticizing the German Greens and arguing that renewable energies alone will not suffice to cover the energy needs; the party proposes to invest in nuclear power plants instead.[81]
Russia and Ukraine
BSW's foreign policy has been labelled[82][83][84] and criticised[85][86][87] as Russophile,[83][82][84] which is denied by Wagenknecht.[10] It is also described as anti-NATO.[88] The BSW is critical of sending weapons to Ukraine and its supporters in the Russo-Ukrainian War, and blames NATO for escalating the conflict.[89] Wagenknecht argues that the war was provoked by ‘NATO expansionism’ and the ‘unwillingness of Western countries to respond to negotiation readiness by Putin’; BSW rejects sanctions against Russia as driving an economic crisis for the workers.[90] The party attacks NATO as a "militaristic, imperialist alliance par excellence".[91]
Officials
Bundestag
Ten members of the Bundestag (all from The Left) joined BSW at its announcement.
Image | Member | Parliament | Note |
---|---|---|---|
Sahra Wagenknecht | Bundestag | Former parliamentary group leader of The Left in the Bundestag | |
Amira Mohamed Ali | Bundestag | Former parliamentary group leader of The Left in the Bundestag | |
Alexander Ulrich | Bundestag | From Rhineland-Palatinate | |
Christian Leye | Bundestag | From North Rhine-Westphalia | |
Sevim Dağdelen | Bundestag | From North Rhine-Westphalia | |
Andrej Hunko | Bundestag | From North Rhine-Westphalia | |
Żaklin Nastić | Bundestag | From Hamburg | |
Ali Al-Dailami | Bundestag | From Hesse | |
Klaus Ernst | Bundestag | From Bavaria and former federal chairman of The Left | |
Jessica Tatti | Bundestag | From Baden-Württemberg |
European Parliament
Six Members of the European Parliament were elected in the 2024 European Parliament election:
Image | Member | Note |
---|---|---|
Fabio De Masi | Former member of the Bundestag for The Left | |
Ruth Firmenich | Former The Left member | |
Thomas Geisel | Former mayor of Düsseldorf for the SPD | |
Friedrich Pürner | Former head of the Aichach-Friedberg health department | |
Michael von der Schulenburg | Former diplomat at the United Nations | |
Jan-Peter Warnke | Former physician and professor |
State parliaments
Brandenburg
Elected to the Landtag of Brandenburg in the 2024 Brandenburg state election:
List | Name | Function |
---|---|---|
1 | Robert Crumbach | Chairman of BSW Brandenburg |
2 | Jouleen Gruhn | |
3 | Stefan Roth | |
4 | Niels-Olaf Lüders | |
5 | André von Ossowski | |
6 | Melanie Matzies-Köhler | |
7 | Falk Peschel | |
8 | Sven Hornauf | |
9 | Jenny Meyer | |
10 | Andreas Kutsche | |
11 | Reinhard Simon | |
12 | Christian Dorst | |
13 | Gunnar Lehmann | |
14 | Oliver Skopec |
Saxony
Elected to the Landtag of Saxony in the 2024 Saxony state election:
List | Name | Function |
---|---|---|
1 | Sabine Zimmermann | Chairwoman of BSW Saxony |
2 | Prof. Dr. Jörg Scheibe | |
3 | Doreen Voigt | |
4 | Ronny Kupke | |
5 | Lutz Richter | |
6 | Uta Knebel | |
7 | Lars Wurzler | |
8 | Bernd Rudolph | |
9 | Janina Pfau | |
10 | Dr. Ingolf Huhn | |
11 | Nico Rudolph | |
12 | Ines Biebrach | |
13 | Jens Hentschel-Thöricht | |
14 | Ulf Lange | |
15 | Ralf Böhme |
Thuringia
Elected to the Landtag of Thuringia in the 2024 Thuringian state election:
List | Name | Function |
---|---|---|
1 | Katja Wolf | Chairwoman of BSW Thuringia |
2 | Steffen Schütz | |
3 | Steffen Quasebarth | |
4 | Sigrid Hupach | |
5 | Frank Augsten | |
6 | Dirk Hoffmeister | |
7 | Sven Küntzel | |
8 | Tilo Kummer | |
9 | Alexander Kästner | |
10 | Matthias Herzog | |
11 | Nina Behrendt | |
12 | Anke Wirsing | |
13 | Ralph Hutschenreuther | |
14 | Roberto Kobelt | |
15 | Stefan Wogawa |
Representation through defections in other states
Image | Member | Parliament | Defected from |
---|---|---|---|
Alexander King | Berlin House of Representatives | The Left[92] | |
Metin Kaya | Hamburg Citizenry | The Left[93] | |
Andreas Hartenfels | Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag | Alliance 90/The Greens[94] |
Election results
European Parliament
Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | Fabio de Masi
|
2,453,652 | 6.17 (#6) | 6 / 96
|
New | NI
|
State Parliaments (Landtage)
State parliament | Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brandenburg [a] | 2024 | 202,343 | 13.5 (#3) | 14 / 88
|
14 | TBD |
Saxony [b]
|
2024 | 277,173 | 11.8 (#3) | 15 / 120
|
15 | TBD |
Thuringia [c] | 2024 | 190,448 | 15.8 (#3) | 15 / 88
|
15 | TBD |
Results timeline
Year | DE |
EU |
BW |
BY |
BE |
BB |
HB |
HH |
HE |
NI |
MV |
NW |
RP |
SL |
SN |
ST |
SH |
TH | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | N/A | 6.2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 13.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 11.8 | N/A | N/A | 15.8 | |
Year | DE |
EU |
BW |
BY |
BE |
BB |
HB |
HH |
HE |
NI |
MV |
NW |
RP |
SL |
SN |
ST |
SH |
TH | |
Bold indicates best result to date. Present in legislature (in opposition) Junior coalition partner Senior coalition partner |
Reactions
The Left (Die Linke)
Many members and activists within the party were relieved that Wagenknecht was leaving after months of hinting and speculation. Party members criticized BSW members of the Bundestag for not returning back their mandates they had won for The Left. Some politicians of The Left expressed disappointment at the behavior of Wagenknecht's followers.[95][96] Schirdewan said that he was "personally disappointed" with the defectors, who he said had damaged the party, and called on them to return their seats in the Bundestag to The Left.[60] The Left vice-chairman Lorenz Gösta Beutin described Wagenknecht's formation of the party as motivated by personal financial gain: "The millionaire Wagenknecht is founding a party for Wagenknecht in order to collect corporate donations for a Wagenknecht party."[97]
The council of Left Youth Solid, the youth wing of The Left, was pleased with Wagenknecht's exit from the party, stating: "Our fight has finally paid off: we were longingly awaiting her departure and called on the party to kick her out. The party can now begin the process of renewal."[97] The Left deputy parliamentary group leader Gesine Lötzsch said that a party founded by Wagenknecht should not be viewed as an opponent or enemy but as competition. She said they would look closely at how this party develops and what positions it takes up from the left. She added: "The real danger that I see is that our country is moving more and more to the right. If The Left parliamentary group no longer exists in the Bundestag, it will be even more difficult to stand against the governing coalition."[95]
Social Democratic Party (SPD)
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) general secretary Kevin Kühnert commented that "Sahra Wagenknecht has been a very established one-woman opposition for 30 years. But there is not a single political measure that is linked to her political activity where something has become better for people", and added that as Wagenknecht is rarely present in the Bundestag, he is not too worried about her new party.[97]
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
The Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), which passed a resolution of incompatibility with both The Left and the AfD, discussed ways to deal with BSW. Wagenknecht offered to the CDU a coalition government if there was no majority without the AfD in the 2024 Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg state elections. The Brandenburg CDU parliamentary group leader Jan Redmann said that they should wait and see the next developments, a position that was also reflected by the CDU in Thuringia. CDU deputy party leader Andreas Jung told Die Welt: "Anti-Americanism, proximity to Putin, and socialism are completely incompatible with our stance."[98] Former agriculture minister Julia Klöckner expressed her view that a resolution of incompatibility should also apply to BSW, while Lower Saxony CDU leader Sebastian Lechner stated that there was a need for clarification, as BSW cannot be subsumed under the CDU's incompatibility decision with The Left and AfD, and that Wagenknecht's new party would have to make its own decision. CDU chairman Friedrich Merz said that BSW could take votes from the AfD, while former president Joachim Gauck (who never was a CDU member) commented that BSW could also attract dissatisfied SPD voters.[98]
Alternative for Germany (AfD)
After the announcement of BSW's formation, the Brandenburg branch of the AfD reportedly feared a loss of votes in
Media
In Germany, the
About BSW attracting AfD voters, Die Zeit stated: "Even if Wagenknecht wants to limit rather than promote immigration, she is not yet known to have openly racist and right-wing extremist attitudes and resentments. In this respect, it would be welcome if at least some of the AfD voters turned to a Wagenknecht party."[101] ' Similarly, Der Spiegel argued: "If the party is founded, the new movement could lure away voters from the AfD. That would not be a bad thing on the surface: left-wing populism à la Wagenknecht is still better than a party on the far right. That is why they are afraid of the new group there."[102] Handelsblatt commented that Wagenknecht could do what Merz has failed to do, namely "the halving of the AfD".[103]
In Britain, The Spectator questioned whether Wagenknecht would succeed with her party, citing the "element of the personality cult".[103] The Guardian stated that, along with the surge of far-right AfD in the polls, the rise of Wagenknecht's party signals rising discontent of the general population with the ruling Scholz cabinet, which Wagenknecht described as "the worst government in its history";[65] according to the polls, if an election were to take place in October 2023, BSW could win up to 20% of the national vote. The newspaper also commented that the new party puts The Left at risk of political irrelevance, as the party has long suffered from infighting and declining electoral returns. Political scientist Andrea Römmele described BSW as "an alternative to the Alternative for Germany", arguing that the party could claim support lost by The Left to the AfD in the new states. Political scientist Benjamin Höhne commented: "The niche BSW is opening up – stressing social justice, and at the same time ... [Wagenknecht] positioning herself in a more migration-sceptical way – has potential."[104] In Italy, the Corriere della Sera described BSW as the "mirror image of the AfD".[103]
See also
Notes
- ^ (formerly part of East Germany)
- ^ (formerly part of East Germany)
- ^ (formerly part of East Germany)
References
- ^ Janz, Carsten; Wienand, Lars (19 September 2024). "Die wahre Herkunft der Wagenknecht-Millionen". T-Online (in German).
Stanger wie Salingré gehören inzwischen zu den 900 Mitgliedern der Partei, die bei Neuaufnahmen sehr zögerlich agieren.
[Stanger and Salingré are now among the party's 900 members who are very hesitant about new admissions.] - ^ a b
- Caddle, Peter (25 October 2023). "Ex-AfD members joining new German left-wing populists' party 'unimaginable', says its chairwoman". Brussels Signal.
- Systems, Eulerpool Research (9 January 2024). "Linkspopulistische "BSW"-Partei formiert sich" [Left-wing populist "BSW" party forms]. Eulerpool Research Systems (in German).
- "Wagenknecht-Partei laut erster Umfrage bei zwölf Prozent – Koalitionen schwierig" [Wagenknecht party at twelve per cent according to first poll - coalitions difficult]. Der Standard (in German). 24 October 2023.
Die Umfrage bestätigt allerdings, was bisherige Befragungen schon deutlich gemacht hatten: dass eine linkspopulistische Bewegung unter Sahra Wagenknecht das Potenzial hat, die Parteienlandschaft in Deutschland massiv aufzumischen.
[However, the survey confirms what previous surveys had already made clear: that the left-wing populist movement under Sahra Wagenknecht has the potential to massively shake up the party landscape in Germany.] - Münchau, Wolfgang (25 October 2023). "Sahra Wagenknecht's new left-populist party should be taken seriously". New Statesman.
- Scally, Derek (23 October 2023). "German Linke rebel walks out to form new left-wing populist party". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b
- Ziedler, Christopher (21 January 2024). "Vermögenssteuer statt Zuwanderung: So sieht Wagenknechts links-nationales Angebot aus" [Wealth tax instead of immigration: this is what Wagenknecht's left-wing nationalist offer looks like]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German).
- Lentsch, Josef (19 October 2023). "How the nationalist left could succeed in Germany: Sahra Wagenknecht's breakthrough". PartyParty.
- "Nieuwe 'anti-woke' partij in Duitsland kan rekenen op veel stemmen" [New 'anti-woke' party in Germany can count on many votes]. Nieuw Rechts (in Dutch).
Met haar links-nationalistische focus kan Wagenknecht stemmen winnen bij zowel linkse als rechtse kiezers die ontevreden zijn over de huidige politiek in Duitsland.
[With her left-nationalist focus, Wagenknecht can win votes from both left-wing and right-wing voters dissatisfied with current politics in Germany.] - Fix, Liana; Kapp, Caroline (31 October 2023). "Why Vladimir Putin Is Embracing Germany's Far Right". The Atlantic.
To make things worse, a new nationalist left-wing party just launched by the charismatic politician Sahra Wagenknecht echoes some of the AfD's positions on Russia.
- Tomlinson, Chris (29 December 2023). "New Left-Wing Nationalist Party May Not Run in German State Elections". The European Conservative.
- ^ EURACTIV (in German). Translated by Carmen Diaz Rodriguez.. Berlin.
Ihre Mischung aus sozialkonservativer und sozialistisch orientierter Wirtschaftspolitik sei bei Anti-Establishment- und rechten Wählern beliebt, sagte der Politikwissenschaftler Constantin Wurthmann kürzlich in einem Interview mit Euractiv.
[Its mixture of socially conservative and socialist-oriented economic policy is popular with anti-establishment and right-wing voters, said political scientist Constantin Wurthmann in a recent interview with Euractiv.]- Binkowski, Rafael (25 October 2023). "Wagenknechts Partei wird vom Land aus gegründet" [Wagenknecht's party is founded from the countryside]. Staatsanzeiger (in German).
Wagenknechts wirtschafts- und sozialpolitische Ansätze sind im Kern sozialistisch.
[Wagenknecht's economic and social policy approaches are essentially socialist.]- Müller-Vogg, Hugo (8 January 2024). "Analyse von Hugo Müller-Vogg: Wagenknecht-Partei verschleiert mit schönen Worten, was sie wirklich mit uns vorhat" [Analysis by Hugo Müller-Vogg: Wagenknecht's party uses fine words to disguise what it really wants to do to us]. Focus (in German).
Der neuen Partei das passende Etikett zu verpassen, ist nicht einfach. Man kann sie als linkskonservativ einstufen, ebenso als national und sozialistisch.
[It is not easy to give the new party the right label. It can be categorised as left-wing conservative, nationalist or socialist.]- Schaller, Erwin (24 October 2023). "Stimmen zur neuen Wagenknecht-Partei" [Voices on the new Wagenknecht party]. Münchner Merkur (in German). Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
Nationalismus scheint für Wagenknecht nicht mehr, wie bisher, der böse Gegner zu sein, sondern Mittel und Zweck, um Menschen für ihre Art von Sozialismus zu mobilisieren. National und sozialistisch, gepaart mit einer einzelnen Person als Dreh- und Angelpunkt, dazu noch eine Entourage aus im Bundestag bisher weitestgehend Ausgegrenzten, man könnte auch schreiben: Claqueuren, Spinnern und Querulanten.
[For Wagenknecht, nationalism no longer seems to be the evil opponent, as before, but a means and an end to mobilise people for her kind of socialism. National and socialist, paired with a single person as the linchpin, plus an entourage of people who have so far been largely marginalised in the Bundestag: claqueurs, cranks and troublemakers.]- Koydl, Wolfgang (23 October 2023). "Sahra Wagenknechts neue Partei ist ein Ein-Frau-Projekt. Ohne sie verpufft es rückstandslos. Kommt das gut?" [Sahra Wagenknecht's new party is a one-woman project. Without her, it will fizzle out without a trace. Will that work?]. Die Weltwoche (in German).
Hier national, dort sozialistisch – kein Wunder, dass die Medien Sahras Bündnis verschreckt dann doch lieber «linkskonservativ» nennen.
[Nationalist here, socialist there - no wonder the media prefer to call Sahra's alliance "left-wing conservative" after all.]- Tutt, Cordula (23 October 2023). "Die Kritikerin des Kapitalismus" [The critic of capitalism]. Wirtschaftswoche (in German).
Die Wirtschaftspolitik der neuen Partei dürfte nach innen eher sozialistisch ausgerichtet sein. „Soziale Gerechtigkeit" wollen zwar so ziemlich alle Parteien in Deutschland, doch verstehen sie Unterschiedliches.
[The new party's economic policy is likely to be more socialist in nature. Although pretty much all parties in Germany want "social justice", they understand it differently.]- Foster, John (3 November 2023). "When Left is Right: The Sahra Wagenknecht Experience". The Battleground.
To be fair, Wagenknecht is still a socialist. But what sort of socialism? The kind obsessively focused on questions of the national.
- Casdorff, Stephan-Andreas (8 January 2024). "Sahra Wagenknecht gründet ihre Partei: Die Vergangenheit lässt grüßen" [Sahra Wagenknecht founds her party: The past sends its regards]. Der Tagesspiegel (in German).
Dazu Wagenknecht mit ihrer Ausstrahlung, verbal-radikal sozialistisch, wenn es (ihr) passt, mit kühler Rhetorik gegen die da oben und die Ampel-Koalition – und es wird ungemütlich für Rechte und Linke.
[Add to this Wagenknecht with her charisma, verbally radical socialist when it suits (her), with cool rhetoric against those up there and the traffic light coalition - and it gets uncomfortable for the right and the left.]- Quadbeck, Eva (12 September 2023). "Wagenknecht unter Zugzwang" [Wagenknecht under pressure to move]. RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (in German).
Inhaltlich muss man sich eine solche Partei schillernd wie ihre Anführerin selbst vorstellen, wechselnd zwischen links- und rechtspopulistischen Tönen: national in der Außen- und Migrationspolitik, sozialistisch in der Sozial- und Wirtschaftspolitik, konservativ in der Gesellschaftspolitik und russlandfreundlich.
[In terms of content, such a party must be as colourful as its leader herself, alternating between left-wing and right-wing populist tones: national in foreign and migration policy, socialist in social and economic policy, conservative in social policy and Russia-friendly.]- Lachniet, Manfred (1 September 2024). "Ohne Wagenknecht kaum eine Chance für die CDU". Neue Ruhr Zeitung (in German).
Allein Sahra Wagenknechts nationalistische und sozialistische BSW scheint ein Partner für die CDU zu sein.
[Only Sahra Wagenknecht's nationalist and socialist BSW seems to be a partner for the CDU.]- "Maaßen: "Wahlergebnis weit hinter den Erwartungen zurückgeblieben"". Junge Freiheit (in German). 2 September 2024.
Die sozialistische Wagenknecht-Partei habe einen medialen Rückenwind genossen und verfüge über eine gänzlich andere organisatorische und finanzielle Ausgangssituation.
[The socialist Wagenknecht party has enjoyed a media tailwind and has a completely different organisational and financial starting position.]- Eckner, Constantin (2 September 2024). "What the AfD's 'historic victory' means for Germany". The Spectator.
The party was handed a boost by Sahra Wagenknecht's decision to quit the far-left party Die Linke and set up her own alliance. Wagenknecht's newly-formed outfit has adopted anti-immigration policies and promoted a rather conservative worldview. At the same time, Wagenknecht still represents socialist positions in socio-economic matters.
- Mehrer, Angela; Puglierin, Jana (10 September 2024). "War, peace, and populism: How Germany's extremist parties are shaping its foreign policy debate". Note from Berlin. European Council on Foreign Relations.
The socialist and culturally conservative Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – only founded in January this year – came third in both states, winning more votes combined than the parties of the governing "traffic-light" coalition.
- Anheier, Helmut K. (5 September 2024). "Will the German Center Hold?". Project Syndicate
Such historical references probably carry little weight with AfD voters or those who cast ballots for the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a pro-Russian, anti-American socialist movement that is willfully oblivious to the atrocities committed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's army in Ukraine.
- Binkowski, Rafael (25 October 2023). "Wagenknechts Partei wird vom Land aus gegründet" [Wagenknecht's party is founded from the countryside]. Staatsanzeiger (in German).
With a unique blend of economically left and culturally conservative positions, the BSW appeals to a substantial proportion of the electorate, particularly in eastern Germany.
It had previously eschewed an alliance with the left-wing Die Linke, which has 12 seats, and the only other alternative is the 15 members of the Sara Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), formed this year by former Die Linke members and politically further to the left, though culturally conservative. The CDU is unlikely to be keen on them too.
Meanwhile another insurgent party – the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – has catapulted itself in the polls up to third place in this state. Ms Wagenknecht, a former communist and long one of the most prominent politicians in eastern Germany, has had success in blending cultural conservatism with economically left-wing policies.
In short, this means it mixes demands that would once have been associated with the socialist-labour Left — interventionist and redistributive government policies to regulate capitalist market forces, higher pensions and minimum wages, generous welfare and social security policies, taxes on wealth — with positions that today would be characterised as culturally conservative: first and foremost, a recognition of the importance of preserving and fostering traditions, stability, security and a sense of community.
The socialist and culturally conservative Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – only founded in January this year – came third in both states, winning more votes combined than the parties of the governing "traffic-light" coalition.
In addition, the weakness of the traffic light coalition went together with a rise of the AfD, but also of a new populist party from the left (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, BSW), which also has a clear Eurosceptic programme.
Although BSW is at the other end of the political spectrum, the two parties share a Eurosceptic, anti-immigration, populist stance. Both also advocate cutting off military aid to Ukraine.
The AfD is attacking not only the ruling coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats, but also the two main opposition parties, the center-right CDU/CSU and the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht alliance, which are the AfD's main opponents in both state elections.
The campaign has included the remarkable rise of an eight-month-old party built around a veteran far-left firebrand, the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance).
Sahra Wagenknecht and her new BSW alliance of the far left are set to play a key role in keeping the Alternative for Germany out of power in Thuringia despite the far-right party's victory in Sunday's state election there.
In another worrying development for Germany's mainstream, the fledgling Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – a far-left party that has questioned the country's support for Ukraine and shares some of the AfD's anti-immigration streak – came third in both states, despite only being founded earlier this year.
A new far-left party, BSW, also made a big impact in the polls, having run on a ticket of peace negotiations with Russia and opposition to the planned stationing of US missiles in Germany.
Sahra Wagenknecht, who heads the far-left BSW, said her party "cannot work together" with Höcke and has long ruled out a coalition with the AfD.
A new far-left party, BSW, also made a big impact in the polls, having run on a ticket of peace negotiations with Russia and opposition to the planned stationing of US missiles in Germany.
The newly formed far-left BSW party was in third place with 15.8%. The AfD came in second in the neighboring state of Saxony, just behind the Christian Democrats.
A far-left party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance or BSW, also produced notable results, coming in third in Thuringia with 15.8% of the vote.
Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on Monday further ruled out working with the second-placed AfD and said the party is considering a coalition with the SPD and the new Sahra Wagenknecht alliance (BSW) - the far-left party named after its founder.
In another blow to the political mainstream, the newly created far-left populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), named after its founder, a former communist, came in third place in both regions on 14.5 per cent and 11.5 per cent of the vote.
Die Partei „Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht" wird von der internationalen Presse fast durchweg als linksextrem charakterisiert.[The party „Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht“ is almost universally characterised by the international press as left-wing extremist.]
Auf der eintägigen Veranstaltung, zu der die 450 Gründungsmitglieder geladen waren, soll zunächst der Parteivorstand gewählt werden.[At the one-day event, to which the 450 founding members were invited, the party executive committee is to be elected first.]
For historians of the Weimar period, the Wagenknecht programme is reminiscent of National-Bolshevism in Germany in the 1930s, a thesis defended by the political scientist Peter R. Neumann49. The comparison is tempting: the fascination with Russia, the desire to break away from the capitalist system, the "anti-imperialist" nationalism, the redistribution of wealth and economic interventionist socialism, an ideological straddle between the nationalist right and communism…
Still, she continues to appeal to popular anti-capitalist sentiments.
Her mix of socially conservative and socialist-leaning economic policies is popular among anti-establishment and right-leaning voters, political scientist Constantin Wurthmann told Euractiv in a recent interview.
In contrast, Wagenknecht and the BSW embody a distinct strain of left-wing politics, marked by a leaning towards social conservatism which could lead to a closer alignment with entities like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Wagenknecht, who earned a Ph.D. in economics, has previously lauded the CCP's economic and industrial policies, holding China as an exemplary model for how to manage a national economy.
Some analysts say Wagenknecht is offering something that has never been seen before in Germany: Conservative social values allied with socialist economic values.