Left leader Wissler accuses Wagenknecht of an “ego trip” because of party plans
“Bad news for the AfD – the overlap is relatively large”
According to media reports, left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht has finally decided to found her own party. According to “Spiegel”, she will present the founding of the association “BSW – For Reason and Justice” on Monday. WELT author Nikolaus Doll classifies the voter potential.
Sahra Wagenknecht had repeatedly talked about the possibility of founding a party, now she is getting serious: at the beginning of next week, the left-wing politician wants to give a “clear outlook” on the “Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance”. Now there is sharp criticism from the left.
DAccording to media reports, left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht has finally decided to found her own party. The “Spiegel” and ZDF first reported on it. WELT also has relevant information. At the beginning of next week, Wagenknecht would like to publicly present the founding of the association “BSW – For Reason and Justice”.
The association was registered at the Mannheim District Court at the end of September as a possible precursor to a party. The abbreviation should stand for “Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht”. An official confirmation from Wagenknecht’s office is still pending. At the press conference next week it will be loud “Mirror” A content document will also be presented, a kind of draft program.
At the federal press conference, Wagenknecht will give a “clear outlook” on the founding of the party for which the association is intended to serve, as “Spiegel” reported. As things stand, Wagenknecht does not want to announce her departure from the Left – nor her departure from the Bundestag faction.
Wagenknecht himself has repeatedly said in recent months that a new party is necessary. However, she has so far shied away from making a public statement. She has divided content with the Left on important issues such as migration and climate policy. She recently said publicly that her connection with the left was over for her. A party expulsion process is underway against her.
The possible founding of a party is generating so much interest because it could shift the political landscape. Pollsters give a Wagenknecht party comparatively high potential. In a YouGov survey at the end of September, almost one in three eligible voters (29 percent) in the east of the country said that they could basically imagine voting for a new party led by Wagenknecht. In the West it was 19 percent.
Left leader Janine Wissler has accused Wagenknecht of acting irresponsibly because of her plans to found a new party. “In view of the devastating politics of the traffic lights,” a left-wing member of the Bundestag must oppose the federal government and present alternatives, said Wissler in the ARD “Tagesthemen”. Wagenknecht’s actions, on the other hand, are an “ego trip”.
Bartsch: “highly problematic” and “immoral”
The Left Party is threatened with losing its parliamentary group status in the Bundestag as a result of Wagenknecht’s plans. Wissler appealed to MPs who could join a new party to also give up their Bundestag mandates: “That would be a requirement of fairness,” she said on ARD. Mandates that were won on the basis of the Left’s program could not simply be taken over to a new party. The Left Party faction currently has 38 members. The limit for faction status is 37.
Left parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch called Wagenknecht’s actions “irresponsible given the social situation and the situation of the left.” The fact that Wagenknecht and her colleagues wanted to take mandates acquired through the Left Party with them was “highly problematic” and “immoral,” Bartsch told the “Rheinische Post” on Thursday. Wagenknecht’s step would lead to “there no longer being a faction”.
But this “doesn’t mean that the left is finished,” emphasized Bartsch. He will continue to fight for an influential left. His party is still the “social opposition”. Wagenknecht’s party “is then a competitor. No more and no less”.
Wagenknecht describes the Greens as the most dangerous party
However, such surveys say little about how many people would actually make this decision. It is also not entirely clear what the party should stand for. Wagenknecht has positioned herself as a sharp critic of the federal government’s Ukraine policy. She is also against strict climate protection policies and for limiting migration. She has repeatedly described the Greens as the most dangerous party.
Political scientists assume that their project could also steal votes from the AfD. The right-wing party hopes to win state elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg for the first time in Germany next year.
Wagenknecht was one of the most prominent figures on the left for decades. She joined the SED before the collapse of the GDR and then became involved in the successor party PDS and finally in the Left. Four years ago, she withdrew from the post of parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag after internal party struggles and burnout. Nevertheless, Wagenknecht remained the most prominent face of the party and repeatedly overshadowed the actual leaders of the Left with appearances on talk shows and books.
The former party leader of the Left, Bernd Riexinger, told “The Pioneer”: “For the Left it is a liberation.” For his party, this marks the end of “a long, painful process.” The clarity now ensures that Left voters know again “what the Left wants and does for them”. Riexinger added: “Everyone who was prevented by Ms. Wagenknecht from voting for us or even becoming a member of us is warmly invited.”