left
Wagenknecht’s future often overshadows everything
Sahra Wagenknecht (The Left) speaks in the Bundestag. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The Left wants to make a name for itself in terms of content – this time with its European election program. But Sahra Wagenknecht’s future takes up a lot of space. The party is working on this. And not just that.
There they are again, like every Monday. Every week the left chairwoman Janine Wissler or Martin Schirdewan here in Berlin’s Karl-Liebknecht-Haus, what the traffic light coalition is currently screwing up from their point of view and how the country could become a little more social or climate-friendly.
And then this topic comes up again: Comrade Sahra Wagenknecht. Or rather the maybe-soon-not-anymore comrade and her plans to found her own party.
It’s the same this Monday. This time Schirdewan and Wissler are even appearing together to present their draft program for the European elections. A good 32 minutes of demands and concepts – fighting poverty, redistribution, peace, climate. And then this question again: “Are you afraid that your European election campaign could be overshadowed by the founding of a Wagenknecht party?”
Does Wagenknecht found her own party?
At the weekend, a media report suggested that things were now becoming concrete. “Decided! Sahra Wagenknecht is founding her own party!” headlined “Bild” online. The Bundestag member herself called this the “opinion” of the newspaper. Their supporters asserted that there was “no new status”: the decision should be made by the end of the year. But the leaders of their current party are stuck on the issue.
“To be honest, I don’t have much interest in taking part in any speculation,” says Schirdewan when asked. He calls the possible Wagenknecht party “a phenomenon without a program” and counters: “We have made a strong contribution in terms of content that makes us recognizable as a modern socialist party.” And further: “That is our clear profile, which is why I am not afraid of any competition.”
The two chairmen have reacted narrowly to Wagenknecht since she said “never change a losing team” shortly after the party leadership was elected in 2022. In fact, the party is struggling, it has had electoral defeats and is polling at 4-5 percent. For Wagenknecht, however, surveys suggest great potential for around a fifth of those eligible to vote.
The break is almost complete
In the spring, Wagenknecht not only confirmed that she was considering forming her own party, but also said that she would no longer run for the Left. Wissler and Schirdewan then declared with the rest of the board that the future of the Left was one without Wagenknecht. The break is almost complete, except for the fact that Wagenknecht still sits in the Bundestag for the Left. If she leaves, the faction is threatened with a split.
In terms of content, a deep gap now separates her from the majority of her current party. The draft of the European program, among other things, states that the European climate goals are not very ambitious and is opposed to a “separation” of Europe in asylum policy. Wagenknecht, on the other hand, criticizes climate protection that is too far-reaching and migration numbers that are too high. She accuses her own party of neglecting the “little people” and wanting to be greener than the Greens.
“From a privileged position you have a different approach to the topic of heat pumps, organic shops or electromobility,” said Wagenknecht in the “Tagesspiegel” at the weekend. “The electric second car is attractive if you have enough money, and the heat pump is also great for residents of a well-insulated house. But when people in this milieu look down on people who can’t afford all of this and buy their schnitzel from Aldi , it has nothing to do with a left-wing perspective.”
One can understand this as a personal dispute – between the very well-known Wagenknecht, who is very popular with her supporters, and the rather unknown, younger and not particularly successful party leaders Schirdewan and Wissler. You can see it as the endless looping debate on the left: What is actually left? Or you can interpret it as a struggle for a sustainable strategic direction.
Wagenknecht targets AfD voters
The Left leadership is courting voters who are disappointed with the SPD and the Greens. Which, by the way, worked well for the party in the dispute over Hartz IV. Wagenknecht, on the other hand, is aggressively targeting people who are currently leaning towards the AfD. “Many people no longer feel represented by any party and are voting AfD out of desperation,” she told the “Tagesspiegel”. “I think it would be good if these people had a reputable address again.”
The AfD certainly understands what this means and is also looking for a solution to a project that is in limbo and therefore hardly comprehensible. AfD leader Alice Weidel tried a mixture of appreciation and warning at the weekend. She praised Wagenknecht on ARD for her positioning on Corona measures and the Ukraine war. But one must be clear “that any split in the anti-government camp should deter the AfD from participating in the government.” As soon as this is clear to voters, a Wagenknecht party will appear as a “willing accomplice” of the traffic light and the CDU. “I think she has completely different poll numbers.”
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