Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance: Difference between revisions

Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit
Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit
Abbreviation	BSW
Chairperson	Amira Mohamed Ali; Sahra Wagenknecht
General Secretary	Christian Leye
Founders	Sahra Wagenknecht; Amira Mohamed Ali; Klaus Ernst; Christian Leye; Lukas Schön; Ali Al-Dailami;
Founded	8 January 2024
Split from	The Left
Headquarters	Krausenstr. 9-10; 10117 Berlin
Membership (September 2024)	900
Ideology	Left-wing populism; Left-wing nationalism; Socialism; Cultural conservatism; Euroscepticism;
Political position	Left-wing to far-left
European Parliament group	Non-Inscrits
Colours	Purple; Orange;
Bundestag	10 / 736
Bundesrat	0 / 69
State Parliaments	47 / 1,898
European Parliament	6 / 96
Heads of State Governments	0 / 16
Website
	bsw-vg.de
	Politics of Germany; Political parties; Elections; ^ A: BSW is widely considered far-left, but is also described as left-wing or left-conservative; the latter label is due to its more conservative stances on socio-cultural issues.;

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The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (Template:Lang-de [beː.ɛsˈveː], BSW) is a political party in Germany that was founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as left-wing populist, nationalist, socialist, culturally conservative, socially conservative and Eurosceptic. The party was preceded by the establishment of a registered association, created on 26 September 2023 and primarily made up of former members of the German political party The Left (Template:Lang-de), for the purposes of preparing the founding of the new political party.^[8] Plans for the new party were presented at a federal press conference on 23 October 2023 by Bundestag members Sahra Wagenknecht, Amira Mohamed Ali, and Christian Leye, former managing director of The Left in North Rhine-Westphalia Lukas Schön, and entrepreneur Ralph Suikat.^[9]^[10]

Amira Mohamed Ali announced that she, along with Wagenknecht, Leye, and seven other members of the Bundestag faction, would leave The Left to form part of the newly-founded BSW; they would maintain their membership in The Left's parliamentary group (Fraktion) and retain parliamentary privileges, but the faction was dissolved by The Left on 6 December 2023.

The main goal of the association is to build a structure for a new party led by Wagenknecht.^[11] The association is sceptical of both green politics and support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War which led to the party being seen as Russophilic.^[4]^[12]^[13] According to various polls, between 12 and 20 percent (with as high as 32% in eastern Germany) of Germans said they would consider voting for BSW.^[13]^[14]^[15]

History

Background

Wagenknecht, who has been described as a prominent left-wing politician,^[15] was a member of The Left and its predecessors, such as the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) and the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS); her political positions are generally identified as left-wing populist.^[16]^[17] Although she was co-leader of The Left from 2015 to 2019, conflict with other party members on topics, such as the German refugee policy, COVID-19 vaccination, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, had led to speculation since 2021 that she would leave The Left and found a new political party.^[16]

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.^[18] 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.^[19]

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 sexist, racist or homophobic discrimination, to the detriment of economic issues. She argues for the primacy of the latter, in contrast to the intersectional approach of the party's leadership, which uses the term "classism" to refer to the social question as a form of discrimination, in the same way as sexism or racism. In her view, the working classes no longer recognize themselves in the discourse of the left, and are turning to the far-right AfD party as a receptacle for the protest vote.^[20]

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.^[21] 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.^[22]

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.^[18] 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.^[23] The Federal Executive Board of The Left passed a resolution of incompatibility (Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss) with BSW.^[24]

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.^[25]

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

BSW

The predecessors of the BSW. Wagenknecht was previously a member of SED, PDS and Die Linke.^[26]^[16]

The party was officially founded on 8 January 2024, followed by a two hour long press conference.^[27]^[28] 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.^[29]

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.^[30]^[31]

It was announced on 1 December 2023 that the first party conference is planned to be held on 27 January 2024.^[32] Ralph Suikat also commented at the time, that the association had thus far received an amount of donations in the seven figures,^[33]^[34] 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.^[35]

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.^[36] The party won six seats, and saw particular strength in East Germany.^[37]

In September 2024, BSW faced its first large electoral test in Landtag elections in the states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.^[38] In Saxony and Thuringia, the BSW came in third place.^[39]

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.^[38] In Saxony and Thuringia, the BSW came in third place.^[39] In Brandenburg, the BSW competed with largely unknown candidates. Although 13 BSW candidates were elected to the state parliament on September 22nd, their names were missing from the state party's homepage before and after the election.^[40]

Intra-party structure

BSW is not organized like any other party in Germany. The whole party has relatively less members in relation to their electoral successes. BSW has less members entitled to vote and is the only party in Germany which divided thousands so called registered supporters and real members. Wagenknecht said in March 2024: “We just make sure that no one comes in who doesn't share our program or who would appear destructive and chaotic."^[41] According to Spiegel, BSW federal executive board wants only 2.000 full members until 2025.^[42]

All membership applications must be approved by the Federal Executive Board. This keeps the number of members entitled to vote small. Journalists were deliberately excluded from the founding party conferences of the state organizations in Lower Saxony and Bremen.^[43]

State organisations

Stat organisation	Chair	Date of Founding	Members	time
Berlin^[44]	Alexander King Josephine Thyrêt	July 14, 2024	81	July 14, 2024
BSW Brandenburg^[45]	Robert Crumbach	May 5, 2024	36	May 5, 2024
Saarland^[46]	Astrid Schramm	March 22, 2024	24	March 22, 2024
BSW Saxony^[47]	Sabine Zimmermann Jörg Scheibe [de]	February 24, 2024	60	February 24, 2024
Thuringia^[48]^[49]	Katja Wolf Steffen Schütz [de]	March 15, 2024	80	March 15, 2024

Ideology and platform

Academic and media descriptions

The BSW has been variously described as populist,^[13]^[50] socialist,^[4] economically socialist,^[15] anti-capitalist,^[51] cultural conservative,^[5] social-conservative,^[52] anti-immigration,^[57] left-wing populist,^[2] left-wing nationalist,^[3] Eurosceptic,^[6] and left-conservative.^[15] The latter label is used in part due to its far-left economic positions and right-wing stances on some social issues,^[58] which have been described by Wurthmann as being popular among anti-establishment and right-leaning voters.^[14]

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."^[59] 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.^[60] 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.^[61] 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".^[62]

On the left–right political spectrum, the party is widely regarded as a far-left party.^[7]^[15]^[63]^[64] Some also consider it left-wing,^[50]^[65] while others argue that the party is conservative on some cultural issues such as immigration;^[58] 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).^[15] 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."^[15]

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".^[66] 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".^[67] 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."^[15]^[50]

The BSW supports economic interventionism and greater welfare social benefits, which are to be financed by the wealthy, while assets and inheritances should be spared.^[68] Wagenknecht published a five-page manifesto that focused on issues like deteriorating bridges and roads, bad mobile phone reception, slow internet, and overwhelmed administrations. The party claims to represent the interests of "low earners" and supports "public welfare-oriented politics", where welfare would stand above "egoistic interests". BSW is strongly critical of growing social injustice, the power and influence of multinational corporations, and the German taxation system, which it decries as unfair. It calls for state intervention against market-dominating big companies and infringing "digital monopolists", which it identifies as Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple; it argues that large corporations undermine democracy and must be broken down. The party rejects market economy, denouncing it as a system that causes inflation, concentration of wealth in the hands of the few, as well as a system responsible for a situation where companies reach record dividends "while the queues in front of food banks become longer and longer". The party focuses on redistributive politics, stating that until now, "redistribution worked from the hard-working to the upper 10,000". As a solution, it proposes additional taxation of the wealthy, dissolution and decentralisation of large companies, and anti-lobbyism laws.^[69]

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.^[70]

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.^[71] 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."^[72]

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.^[73]

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.^[74] 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."^[72]

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.^[73]

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 social progressivism as an extension of market-liberal policies that "weaken cohesion and valuable mutual connections that previously offered people security and support".^[73]

China

The party is described as pro-China.^[75] 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".^[76] 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.^[77]

Israel–Palestine conflict

Amidst the Israel–Hamas war, Wagenknecht described the Gaza Strip as an "open-air prison".^[78]

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.^[79]

Russia and Ukraine

BSW's foreign policy has been labelled^[80]^[81]^[82] and criticised^[83]^[84]^[85] as Russophile,^[81]^[80]^[82] which is denied by Wagenknecht.^[13] It is also described as anti-NATO.^[86] The BSW is critical of sending weapons to Ukraine and its supporters in the Russo-Ukrainian War, and blames NATO for escalating the conflict.^[87]

Officials

Bundestag

Ten members of the Bundestag (all from The Left) joined BSW at its announcement.

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

Alexander King, a member of the Berlin House of Representatives for The Left, joined BSW on 27 October 2023.^[88] Metin Kaya, a member of the Hamburg Parliament followed suit.

Brandenburg

Elected to the Landtag of Brandenburg in the 2024 Brandenburg state election:


List	Name	function
1	Robert Crumbach	Chairmen 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

Thuringia

Elected to the Landtag of Thuringia in the 2024 Thuringian state election:

Member
Katja Wolf
Steffen Schütz
Steffen Quasebarth
Sigrid Hupach
Frank Augsten
Dirk Hoffmeister
Sven Küntzel
Tilo Kummer
Alexander Kästner
Matthias Herzog
Nina Behrendt
Anke Wirsing
Ralph Hutschenreuther
Roberto Kobelt
Stefan Wogawa

Other states

Image	Member	Parliament
	Alexander King	Berlin
	Metin Kaya	Hamburg
	Andreas Hartenfels	Rhineland-Palatinate

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	13.5	N/A	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.^[89]^[90] Schirdewan said that he was "personally disappointed" with the defectors, whom he said had damaged the party, and called on them to return their seats in the Bundestag to The Left.^[14] 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."^[91]

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."^[91] 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."^[89]

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.^[91]

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."^[92] 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.^[92]

Alternative for Germany (AfD)

After the announcement of BSW's formation, the Brandenburg branch of the AfD reportedly feared a loss of votes in eastern Germany for the September 2024 Brandenburg state election.^[91]

Media

In Germany, the Bild described Wagenknecht as a right-wing socialist, while Die Tageszeitung said that she promotes "socialism with a right-wing code".^[93] Party researchers generally assume that BSW could challenge the AfD for votes due to its views about the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and migration.^[93] Deutschlandfunk commented: "For the AfD, a Wagenknecht party would be direct competition that could cost it a few percentage points and reduce its own voter potential among those disappointed by politics. Both the future Die Linke and the AfD lack charismatic figures like Wagenknecht."^[87] T-Online commented that, alongside The Left and the AfD, BSW also posed a threat to the centre-right Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), with around 26% of FDP voters willing to consider the party. It argued that although the FDP and BSW are opposites on most issues, with the FDP standing for economic liberalism, the bases of both parties are critical of German migration policy.^[94]

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."^[95] ' 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."^[96] Handelsblatt commented that Wagenknecht could do what Merz has failed to do, namely "the halving of the AfD".^[97]

In Britain, The Spectator questioned whether Wagenknecht would succeed with her party, citing the "element of the personality cult".^[97] 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";^[63] 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."^[98] In Italy, the Corriere della Sera described BSW as the "mirror image of the AfD".^[97]

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.
^ ^a ^b ^c
- Alipour, Nick (24 October 2023). "Ziel Europawahl: Wagenknechts neue Partei will mit EU-Kritik triumphieren" [Aiming for the European elections: Wagenknecht's new party wants to triumph with EU criticism]. EURACTIV (in German). Translated by Carmen Diaz Rodriguez. 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. Berlin. 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.
^ ^a ^b
- Thomeczek, Jan Philipp (2024). "The Voting Potential of Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht". Political Studies Review: 1. doi:10.1177/14789299241264975. A new challenger seeks to enter the German party system: Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht. With her new party, former Die Linke politician Sahra Wagenknecht combines a left-authoritarian profile (economically left-leaning, but culturally conservative) with anti-US, pro-Russia and anti-elitist stances.
- Herold, Maik; Cyrill, Otteni (2024). "A New Left-conservative Competitor in the German Party System? the Supporters of 'bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht' (BSW) and Their Ideological Positions". OSF Preprints: 1. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/8EZQW. 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.
- "'Extreme resurgence': Is polarised Europe getting ungovernable as centrist space shrinks?". Daiji World. 3 September 2024. 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.
- Parker, Jessica (31 August 2024). "Far right eyes political earthquake as Germans head to the polls". BBC. 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.
- Fazi, Thomas (31 August 2024). "Who's afraid of Sahra Wagenknecht? Germany's 'left-conservative' has redefined populism". UnHerd. 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.
- 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.
^ ^a ^b
- Alipour, Nick (28 May 2024). "The mystery of Europe's new 'left conservative' group". Euractiv. Manuel Müller, a European politics expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), told Euractiv that BSW represents "Eurosceptic left-conservatism".
- Marsh, Sarah (30 August 2024). "Germany's upcoming state elections: what to watch for". Reuters. Both the AfD and the BSW are eurosceptic, anti-immigration, Russia-friendly and against military support for Ukraine.
- Deconinck, Carl (17 January 2024). "Germany's new party BSW comes out all guns blazing". Brussels Signal. The title of "biggest Eurosceptic party in Germany" can go to BSW, observers say, with a programme that would likely make left-liberal progressives faint if its policies were to become reality.
- Becker, Max; von Ondarza, Nicolai (2024). "Germany: A More Polarised, Politicised, But Also Potentially More National-Focused Election Campaign" (PDF). CIDOB Monographs. 88. Barcelona Centre for International Affairs: 69–73. ISBN 978-84-18977-22-0. 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.
- von Harrach, Georg (2 September 2024). "Far-right win German state election for the first time". Channel 4 News. 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.
^ ^a ^b
- Szumski, Charles (2 September 2024). Owen Morgan (ed.). "Regional elections in Germany cause European stir". Euractiv. French MEP Manon Aubry of La France Insoumise (The Left) said the AfD's success, along with the strong showing of the far-left BSW party led by Sahra Wagenknecht, reflected a polarised political landscape in Germany and in Europe.
- Brady, Kate; Faiola, Anthony (1 September 2024). "Far right set to win in a German state for the first time since WWII". Washington Post. The additional success of the far-left BSW, only founded in January, could reshape German politics, with the party having the potential to scoop up voters from across the political spectrum in next year's national vote.
- Marsh, Sarah (1 September 2024). "Germany far-right party could win first state in eastern regional elections". Reuters. New far-left BSW could become kingmaker.
- Chazan, Guy (2 September 2024). "Far-right Alternative for Germany wins first regional election". Financial Times. Berlin. The AfD is not the only beneficiary of local residents' anger: they also voted in large numbers for a new far-left party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which won 15.8 per cent in Thuringia and 11.8 per cent in Saxony.
- Erlanger, Steven; Schuetze, Christopher F. (1 September 2024). "East Germans Lean Toward Extremes in State Elections". New York Times. Berlin. But if the Christian Democrats must turn to the far-left BSW for a coalition partner, they may find these negotiations awkward because Ms. Wagenknecht, who is not running for office on the state level, has insisted that any coalition partner accept her position on Ukraine, calling for an end to German aid to Kyiv and rapid negotiations to try to end the war.
- Bharadwaj, Apurva (1 September 2024). "Germany's Far-Right Poised To Win Regional Elections". NDTV. Opinion polls have indicated that the AfD is ahead in Thuringia and a close second in Saxony. Another party, the far-left BSW, is also getting a strong upstart, the opinion polls showed.
- Jackson, James; Cleave, Iona; Kelly, Kieran (1 September 2024). "German far-Right to win first state election since Nazi era". The Daily Telegraph. Berlin. The preliminary results showed large increases for both the far-Right AfD and the far-Left BSW in the eastern German state, while the Greens suffered heavy losses.
- Stroud, Liv (3 September 2024). "Germany grapples with far-right surge as AfD wins state election". Euronews. In Thuringia, none of the established parties managed to secure an absolute majority or even a coalition majority, and the main question remains whether the AfD can form a coalition with the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) or the conservative CDU.
- von der Burchard, Hans; Posaner, Joshua (24 August 2024). "German far right seizes on knife attack ahead of crucial state elections". The Politico. Berlin. 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.
- Cole, Deborah (29 August 2024). "'A test case for German democracy': populists ride high before state elections". The Guardian. Erfurt. 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).
- Rogers, Iain (2 September 2024). "German Far-Left Leader Turns Power Broker After State Votes". Bloomberg News. 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.
- Edwards, Christian; Otto, Claudio; Otto, Matties; Schmidt, Nadine (2 September 2024). "AfD becomes first far-right party to win German state election since 1945". CNN. 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.
- Macdougal, John (2 September 2024). "Election outcome highlights Germany's Ukraine war problem". Radio France Internationale. Berlin. 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.
- "German Chancellor Scholz calls on parties to isolate far right". Le Monde. Paris. 2 September 2024. 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.
- Colborne, Femke (2 September 2024). "Election outcome highlights Germany's Ukraine war problem". The Manhattan Mercury. 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.
- Ridgwell, Henry (3 September 2024). "German far-right surge raises doubts about Berlin's support for Ukraine". Voice of America. 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.
- Axelrod, Toby (3 September 2024). "Far-right party wins German state election for first time since the Nazi era". The Forward. A far-left party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance or BSW, also produced notable results, coming in third in Thuringia with 15.8% of the vote.
- "Today in Germany: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday". The Local. 3 September 2024. 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.
- Waterfield, Bruno; Moody, Oliver (2 September 2024). "Germany election results: hard-right AfD set to win Thuringia". The Times. 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.
- Burmeister, Julian (3 September 2024). "Wie Deutschland international gesehen wird: Gibt es ein neues Image nach den Wahlen?". Südwestrundfunk (in German). 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.]
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^ ^a ^b ^c Schuetze, Christopher F. (23 October 2023). "Leftist Upstart Threatens to Shake up German Politics With Her Own". The New York Times. ISSN 1553-8095. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^
- "Germany's European Election Results: Key Takeaways". Martens Centre. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Nothing could be further away from the political programme if one carefully reads the BSW programme, which is pro-Russian, anti-capitalist, and anti-Western
- Thomeczek, J. Philipp (1 September 2024). "Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis". Politische Vierteljahresschrift. 65 (3): 535–552. doi:10.1007/s11615-024-00544-z. ISSN 1862-2860. In the text, Wagenknecht shows strong anti-capitalist stances and describes the behaviour of economic elites (Wirtschaftseliten) as "irresponsible and immoral."
- The Week UK (11 November 2023). "Sahra Wagenknecht: changing the face of German politics". TheWeek. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Wagenknecht is a true anti-capitalist who wants to soak the rich and expand the welfare state.
- Eckner, Constantin (23 October 2023). "Will Germany's new left-wing party challenge the AfD?". The Spectator. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Over the past decade, Wagenknecht has become one of the most well-known left-wing politicians in Germany, regularly assuming anti-capitalist positions and thereby becoming an icon of the extreme left
- "Oferte electorale est-germane - între putinofilie, anti-capitalism şi xenofobie" ["East German electoral offers - between putinophilia, anti-capitalism and xenophobia"]. RFI (in Romanian). 9 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024. În plină ascensiune se află şi formaţiunea naţional-populistă şi anti-capitalistă, Uniunea Sarah Wagenknecht (BSW). [The national-populist and anti-capitalist formation, the Sarah Wagenknecht Union (BSW), is also on the rise.]
- Moreau, Patrick (February 2024). "The emergence of a conservative left in Germany: the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance – reason and justice (BSW)". Fondapol. Retrieved 4 September 2024. 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…
- Baszak, Gregor (9 October 2023). "The Left-wing maverick who could stop the AfD". UnHerd. Retrieved 15 September 2024. Still, she continues to appeal to popular anti-capitalist sentiments.
^
- Philipp Fritz; Klaus Geiger; Virginia Kirst; Martina Meister; Mandoline Rutkowski (27 October 2023). "Hier finden sich Hinweise auf Wagenknechts Erfolgschancen" [Here are some indications of Wagenknecht's chances of success]. Die Welt (in German). "Auch hier zeigt sich eine Parallele zu Wagenknecht, die ihre Partei explizit sozialkonservativ ausrichtet und sich gegen von ihr als „woke"... [Here, too, there is a parallel to Wagenknecht, who explicitly aligns her party with social conservatism and opposes what she calls "woke"...]
- Tlusty, Ann-Kristin (8 January 2024). "Vom Planeten Wagenknecht" [From planet Wagenknecht]. Die Zeit (in German). Neben Wagenknechts Haltungen zu Migration, Pandemie, Russland, Sozial- und Wirtschaftspolitik gibt es einen weiteren Aspekt, den ihre Anhängerinnen oft als Grund ihrer Sympathie nennen: Wagenknechts gesellschaftspolitischen Konservatismus, ihre Kritik an den sogenannten Lifestyle-Linken. [In addition to Wagenknecht's stances on migration, the pandemic, Russia, social and economic policy, there is another aspect that her supporters often cite as a reason for their sympathy: Wagenknecht's socio-political conservatism, her criticism of the so-called lifestyle left.]
- Alipour, Nick (23 October 2023). "Germany's left-wing rebel launches populist party to run in EU elections". EURACTIV. 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.
- Hildebrandt, Tim (3 November 2023). "Germany Has a New Player in Left-Wing Politics. Where Does It Stand on China?". The Diplomat. 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.
- Knight, Ben (23 October 2023). "Wagenknecht: A far-left challenge to Germany's far-right AfD". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023. Some analysts say Wagenknecht is offering something that has never been seen before in Germany: Conservative social values allied with socialist economic values.
^ Gwyn Jones, Mared (4 June 2024). "Élections européennes : ce qu'il faut savoir sur les principaux enjeux nationaux". Euronews. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
^ Eckner, Constantin (2 September 2024). "What the AfD's 'historic victory' means for Germany". The Spectator.
^ Marsh, Sarah (30 August 2024). "Germany's upcoming state elections: what to watch for". Reuters. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
^ von Harrach, Georg (2 September 2024). "Far-right win German state election for the first time". Channel 4 News.
^ ^[53]^[54]^[55]^[56]
^ ^a ^b "Head of German state of Saxony says deal with populist BSW 'possible'". Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 2 September 2024. That makes the BSW, which finished third with 11.8% of the vote, a crucial potential partner. The party has campaigned on a mix of opposition to immigration, far-left economic policies and right-wing stances on some social issues such as gender policy.
^ "Politologe: Könnte AfD gefährlich werden". ZDF (in German). 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ "Lechts oder rinks? Das Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht im Parteienwettbewerb" (PDF). FES Impuls (in German). Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung: 1–4. December 2023. ISBN 978-3-98628-355-1.
^ Holzhauser, Thorsten (2024). Nicht links oder rechts, sondern beides? Das Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht nach der Europawahl (PDF). Paris: Ifri. ISBN 979-10-373-0886-3. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
^ Schack, Ramon (25 February 2024). "Hajo Funke über Wagenknecht-Partei: "Ich verstehe nicht, wie Medien von rechtsoffen sprechen können"". Berliner Zeitung (in German).
^ ^a ^b Delfs, Arne (23 October 2023). "New German Far-Left Party Aims to Challenge Scholz's Coalition". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
^ Hoyer, Katja (19 March 2024). "The rise of Reform could make Britain ungovernable – look to Germany to see why". The Daily Telegraph. We're now in a position where the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is polling as the second largest political party while a new far-Left party, headed by the former communist Sahra Wagenknecht, is also projected to take up seats in the next German parliament.
^ "New left-wing German political party headed by Sahra Wagenknecht could draw votes from far-right AfD". Euronews.com. 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
^ Boris Herrmann; Angelika Slavik (25 October 2023). ""Natürlich nicht rechts"". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German).
^ "Warum Sahra Wagenknecht ihre neue Partei nicht links nennen will". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 27 October 2023. ISSN 0174-4909. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
^ Gersemann, Olaf (27 October 2023). "'Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht': Etwas stimmt nicht an der Wagenknecht-Rechnung". Die Welt (in German). ISSN 0173-8437. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
^ Thomeczek, J. Philipp (2024). "Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis". Politische Vierteljahresschrift. 65: 546–547. doi:10.1007/s11615-024-00544-z.
^ Moreau, Patrick (2024). "The Emergence of a Conservative Left in Germany: the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (BSW)" (PDF). Foundation for Political Innovation. pp. 21–22.
^ Wagner, Sarah (20 September 2024). "Sahra Wagenknecht's BSW: a new party shaking up German politics". UK in a Changing Europe. Formed in January this year after much speculation, the party's unique appeal lies in its anti-immigration stance and conservative cultural positions, such as scepticism towards gender-inclusive language and trans rights.
^ ^a ^b Angelos, James (26 August 2024). "Is Germany's rising superstar so far left she's far right?". Politico.
^ ^a ^b ^c Dostal, Jörg Michael (18 August 2024). "Left Conservatism: Sahra Wagenknecht's Challenge to the German Party System". The Political Quarterly. 95 (4). John Wiley & Sons Ltd. doi:10.1111/1467-923X.13447. ISSN 1467-923X.
^ Koall, Carsten (12 April 2024). "Sahra Wagenknecht befürwortet Genderverbote an Schulen". Die Welt (in German).
^ Burleigh, Michael (2 September 2024). "Germany's far right is on the rise – but this is not the 1930s". iNews.
^ Hildebrandt, Tim (3 November 2023). "Germany Has a New Player in Left-Wing Politics. Where Does It Stand on China?". The Diplomat.
^ Moreau, Patrick (2024). "The Emergence of a Conservative Left in Germany: the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (BSW)" (PDF). Foundation for Political Innovation. pp. 21–22.
^ Scally, Derek (23 October 2023). "German Linke rebel walks out to form new left-wing populist party". The Irish Times. ISSN 0791-5144. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^ Serif, Moritz (26 March 2023). "Wagenknecht stellt These auf: „Wärmepumpen klimapolitisch völliger Nonsens"". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German).
^ ^a ^b "BSW-Parteitag: EU-kritisch, pro-russisch und wertkonservativ". Norddeutscher Rundfunk. 27 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b "What Is New "Pro-russian" Party in Germany, and Why Does It Pose Risks?". European Pravda. 3 November 2023.
^ ^a ^b "BSW-Parteitag: Wie moskautreu ist das Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht?". RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. 5 December 2023.
^ "Wagenknecht und AfD unter dem Einfluss von Putin und dem Kreml?". Euronews.com (in German). 22 April 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^ Hesse, Michael (18 September 2023). "Historiker über Wagenknecht: "Putinsche Stimme in Deutschland"". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). ISSN 0940-6980. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Anastasiadis, Georg (24 October 2023). "Weg von den USA, hin zu Russland: Wagenknechts gefährliches Abenteuer" [Away from the USA and towards Russia: Wagenknecht's dangerous adventure]. Münchner Merkur (in German). Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Knight, Ben (2 September 2024). "What is Germany's populist BSW party?". Deutsche Welle.
^ ^a ^b "Wagenknecht-Partei: Chancen, Inhalte und Folgen". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
^ Kiesel, Robert (27 October 2023). "Alexander King verlässt seine Partei: Berliner Linke-Abgeordneter wechselt zu Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b Aktuell, S. W. R. (23 October 2023). "Reutlinger Abgeordnete verlässt Die Linke und will sich Sahra Wagenknecht anschließen". Südwestrundfunk (in German). Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^ "FAQ: Was bedeuten Wagenknechts Pläne für die Politik?". Tagesschau (in German). 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Wie die Linke auf Wagenknechts Abgang reagiert: »Totale Egoshow«". Der Spiegel (in German). 23 October 2023. ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Parteien: CDU diskutiert über Umgang mit 'Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht'". Die Zeit (in German). 27 October 2023. ISSN 0044-2070. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Sozialismus mit rechtem Code". Ostbelgien Direkt (in German). 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Schmidt, Florian (23 October 2023). "Diese Parteien müssen jetzt vor Wagenknecht zittern". T-Online (in German). Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
^ Schuler, Katharina (19 October 2023). "Sie selbst hat wenig zu verlieren, Land und Demokratie dagegen einiges". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Neukirch, Ralf (23 October 2023). "News des Tages: Sahra Wagenknecht, Israel und Gazastreifen, Viktor Orbán und die EU". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Much ado about new Wagenknecht party in Germany". Eurotopics.net. 25 October 2023. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
^ Henley, Jon (23 October 2023). "German firebrand politician quits far-left Die Linke to set up her own party". The Guardian. ISSN 1756-3224. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

External links

Media related to Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht at Wikimedia Commons
Official website (in German)

[89] (formerly part of East Germany)

[90] (formerly part of East Germany)

[91] (formerly part of East Germany)

[1] 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.]

[left_pop-2] 
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.

[6] Caddle, Peter (25 October 2023). "Ex-AfD members joining new German left-wing populists' party 'unimaginable', says its chairwoman". Brussels Signal.

[7] Systems, Eulerpool Research (9 January 2024). "Linkspopulistische "BSW"-Partei formiert sich" [Left-wing populist "BSW" party forms]. Eulerpool Research Systems (in German).

[8] "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.]

[9] Münchau, Wolfgang (25 October 2023). "Sahra Wagenknecht's new left-populist party should be taken seriously". New Statesman.

[10] Scally, Derek (23 October 2023). "German Linke rebel walks out to form new left-wing populist party". The Irish Times.

[left_nat-3] 
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.

[12] 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).

[13] Lentsch, Josef (19 October 2023). "How the nationalist left could succeed in Germany: Sahra Wagenknecht's breakthrough". PartyParty.

[14] "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.]

[15] 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.

[16] Tomlinson, Chris (29 December 2023). "New Left-Wing Nationalist Party May Not Run in German State Elections". The European Conservative.

[list-4] 
Alipour, Nick (24 October 2023). "Ziel Europawahl: Wagenknechts neue Partei will mit EU-Kritik triumphieren" [Aiming for the European elections: Wagenknecht's new party wants to triumph with EU criticism]. EURACTIV (in German). Translated by Carmen Diaz Rodriguez. 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. Berlin. 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.

[18] Alipour, Nick (24 October 2023). "Ziel Europawahl: Wagenknechts neue Partei will mit EU-Kritik triumphieren" [Aiming for the European elections: Wagenknecht's new party wants to triumph with EU criticism]. EURACTIV (in German). Translated by Carmen Diaz Rodriguez. 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.]

[19] 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.]

[20] 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.]

[21] 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.]

[22] 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.]

[23] 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.]

[24] 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.

[25] 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.]

[26] 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.]

[27] 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.]

[28] "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.]

[29] 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.

[30] 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.

[31] Anheier, Helmut K. (5 September 2024). "Will the German Center Hold?". Project Syndicate. Berlin. 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.

[cult_con-5] 
Thomeczek, Jan Philipp (2024). "The Voting Potential of Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht". Political Studies Review: 1. doi:10.1177/14789299241264975. A new challenger seeks to enter the German party system: Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht. With her new party, former Die Linke politician Sahra Wagenknecht combines a left-authoritarian profile (economically left-leaning, but culturally conservative) with anti-US, pro-Russia and anti-elitist stances.
Herold, Maik; Cyrill, Otteni (2024). "A New Left-conservative Competitor in the German Party System? the Supporters of 'bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht' (BSW) and Their Ideological Positions". OSF Preprints: 1. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/8EZQW. 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.
"'Extreme resurgence': Is polarised Europe getting ungovernable as centrist space shrinks?". Daiji World. 3 September 2024. 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.
Parker, Jessica (31 August 2024). "Far right eyes political earthquake as Germans head to the polls". BBC. 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.
Fazi, Thomas (31 August 2024). "Who's afraid of Sahra Wagenknecht? Germany's 'left-conservative' has redefined populism". UnHerd. 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.
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.

[33] Thomeczek, Jan Philipp (2024). "The Voting Potential of Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht". Political Studies Review: 1. doi:10.1177/14789299241264975. A new challenger seeks to enter the German party system: Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht. With her new party, former Die Linke politician Sahra Wagenknecht combines a left-authoritarian profile (economically left-leaning, but culturally conservative) with anti-US, pro-Russia and anti-elitist stances.

[34] Herold, Maik; Cyrill, Otteni (2024). "A New Left-conservative Competitor in the German Party System? the Supporters of 'bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht' (BSW) and Their Ideological Positions". OSF Preprints: 1. doi:10.17605/OSF.IO/8EZQW. 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.

[35] "'Extreme resurgence': Is polarised Europe getting ungovernable as centrist space shrinks?". Daiji World. 3 September 2024. 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.

[36] Parker, Jessica (31 August 2024). "Far right eyes political earthquake as Germans head to the polls". BBC. 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.

[37] Fazi, Thomas (31 August 2024). "Who's afraid of Sahra Wagenknecht? Germany's 'left-conservative' has redefined populism". UnHerd. 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.

[38] 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.

[euro_scep-6] 
Alipour, Nick (28 May 2024). "The mystery of Europe's new 'left conservative' group". Euractiv. Manuel Müller, a European politics expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), told Euractiv that BSW represents "Eurosceptic left-conservatism".
Marsh, Sarah (30 August 2024). "Germany's upcoming state elections: what to watch for". Reuters. Both the AfD and the BSW are eurosceptic, anti-immigration, Russia-friendly and against military support for Ukraine.
Deconinck, Carl (17 January 2024). "Germany's new party BSW comes out all guns blazing". Brussels Signal. The title of "biggest Eurosceptic party in Germany" can go to BSW, observers say, with a programme that would likely make left-liberal progressives faint if its policies were to become reality.
Becker, Max; von Ondarza, Nicolai (2024). "Germany: A More Polarised, Politicised, But Also Potentially More National-Focused Election Campaign" (PDF). CIDOB Monographs. 88. Barcelona Centre for International Affairs: 69–73. ISBN 978-84-18977-22-0. 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.
von Harrach, Georg (2 September 2024). "Far-right win German state election for the first time". Channel 4 News. 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.

[40] Alipour, Nick (28 May 2024). "The mystery of Europe's new 'left conservative' group". Euractiv. Manuel Müller, a European politics expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), told Euractiv that BSW represents "Eurosceptic left-conservatism".

[41] Marsh, Sarah (30 August 2024). "Germany's upcoming state elections: what to watch for". Reuters. Both the AfD and the BSW are eurosceptic, anti-immigration, Russia-friendly and against military support for Ukraine.

[42] Deconinck, Carl (17 January 2024). "Germany's new party BSW comes out all guns blazing". Brussels Signal. The title of "biggest Eurosceptic party in Germany" can go to BSW, observers say, with a programme that would likely make left-liberal progressives faint if its policies were to become reality.

[43] Becker, Max; von Ondarza, Nicolai (2024). "Germany: A More Polarised, Politicised, But Also Potentially More National-Focused Election Campaign" (PDF). CIDOB Monographs. 88. Barcelona Centre for International Affairs: 69–73. ISBN 978-84-18977-22-0. 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.

[44] von Harrach, Georg (2 September 2024). "Far-right win German state election for the first time". Channel 4 News. 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.

[far_left-7] 
Szumski, Charles (2 September 2024). Owen Morgan (ed.). "Regional elections in Germany cause European stir". Euractiv. French MEP Manon Aubry of La France Insoumise (The Left) said the AfD's success, along with the strong showing of the far-left BSW party led by Sahra Wagenknecht, reflected a polarised political landscape in Germany and in Europe.
Brady, Kate; Faiola, Anthony (1 September 2024). "Far right set to win in a German state for the first time since WWII". Washington Post. The additional success of the far-left BSW, only founded in January, could reshape German politics, with the party having the potential to scoop up voters from across the political spectrum in next year's national vote.
Marsh, Sarah (1 September 2024). "Germany far-right party could win first state in eastern regional elections". Reuters. New far-left BSW could become kingmaker.
Chazan, Guy (2 September 2024). "Far-right Alternative for Germany wins first regional election". Financial Times. Berlin. The AfD is not the only beneficiary of local residents' anger: they also voted in large numbers for a new far-left party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which won 15.8 per cent in Thuringia and 11.8 per cent in Saxony.
Erlanger, Steven; Schuetze, Christopher F. (1 September 2024). "East Germans Lean Toward Extremes in State Elections". New York Times. Berlin. But if the Christian Democrats must turn to the far-left BSW for a coalition partner, they may find these negotiations awkward because Ms. Wagenknecht, who is not running for office on the state level, has insisted that any coalition partner accept her position on Ukraine, calling for an end to German aid to Kyiv and rapid negotiations to try to end the war.
Bharadwaj, Apurva (1 September 2024). "Germany's Far-Right Poised To Win Regional Elections". NDTV. Opinion polls have indicated that the AfD is ahead in Thuringia and a close second in Saxony. Another party, the far-left BSW, is also getting a strong upstart, the opinion polls showed.
Jackson, James; Cleave, Iona; Kelly, Kieran (1 September 2024). "German far-Right to win first state election since Nazi era". The Daily Telegraph. Berlin. The preliminary results showed large increases for both the far-Right AfD and the far-Left BSW in the eastern German state, while the Greens suffered heavy losses.
Stroud, Liv (3 September 2024). "Germany grapples with far-right surge as AfD wins state election". Euronews. In Thuringia, none of the established parties managed to secure an absolute majority or even a coalition majority, and the main question remains whether the AfD can form a coalition with the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) or the conservative CDU.
von der Burchard, Hans; Posaner, Joshua (24 August 2024). "German far right seizes on knife attack ahead of crucial state elections". The Politico. Berlin. 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.
Cole, Deborah (29 August 2024). "'A test case for German democracy': populists ride high before state elections". The Guardian. Erfurt. 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).
Rogers, Iain (2 September 2024). "German Far-Left Leader Turns Power Broker After State Votes". Bloomberg News. 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.
Edwards, Christian; Otto, Claudio; Otto, Matties; Schmidt, Nadine (2 September 2024). "AfD becomes first far-right party to win German state election since 1945". CNN. 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.
Macdougal, John (2 September 2024). "Election outcome highlights Germany's Ukraine war problem". Radio France Internationale. Berlin. 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.
"German Chancellor Scholz calls on parties to isolate far right". Le Monde. Paris. 2 September 2024. 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.
Colborne, Femke (2 September 2024). "Election outcome highlights Germany's Ukraine war problem". The Manhattan Mercury. 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.
Ridgwell, Henry (3 September 2024). "German far-right surge raises doubts about Berlin's support for Ukraine". Voice of America. 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.
Axelrod, Toby (3 September 2024). "Far-right party wins German state election for first time since the Nazi era". The Forward. A far-left party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance or BSW, also produced notable results, coming in third in Thuringia with 15.8% of the vote.
"Today in Germany: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday". The Local. 3 September 2024. 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.
Waterfield, Bruno; Moody, Oliver (2 September 2024). "Germany election results: hard-right AfD set to win Thuringia". The Times. 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.
Burmeister, Julian (3 September 2024). "Wie Deutschland international gesehen wird: Gibt es ein neues Image nach den Wahlen?". Südwestrundfunk (in German). 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.]

[46] Szumski, Charles (2 September 2024). Owen Morgan (ed.). "Regional elections in Germany cause European stir". Euractiv. French MEP Manon Aubry of La France Insoumise (The Left) said the AfD's success, along with the strong showing of the far-left BSW party led by Sahra Wagenknecht, reflected a polarised political landscape in Germany and in Europe.

[47] Brady, Kate; Faiola, Anthony (1 September 2024). "Far right set to win in a German state for the first time since WWII". Washington Post. The additional success of the far-left BSW, only founded in January, could reshape German politics, with the party having the potential to scoop up voters from across the political spectrum in next year's national vote.

[48] Marsh, Sarah (1 September 2024). "Germany far-right party could win first state in eastern regional elections". Reuters. New far-left BSW could become kingmaker.

[49] Chazan, Guy (2 September 2024). "Far-right Alternative for Germany wins first regional election". Financial Times. Berlin. The AfD is not the only beneficiary of local residents' anger: they also voted in large numbers for a new far-left party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which won 15.8 per cent in Thuringia and 11.8 per cent in Saxony.

[50] Erlanger, Steven; Schuetze, Christopher F. (1 September 2024). "East Germans Lean Toward Extremes in State Elections". New York Times. Berlin. But if the Christian Democrats must turn to the far-left BSW for a coalition partner, they may find these negotiations awkward because Ms. Wagenknecht, who is not running for office on the state level, has insisted that any coalition partner accept her position on Ukraine, calling for an end to German aid to Kyiv and rapid negotiations to try to end the war.

[51] Bharadwaj, Apurva (1 September 2024). "Germany's Far-Right Poised To Win Regional Elections". NDTV. Opinion polls have indicated that the AfD is ahead in Thuringia and a close second in Saxony. Another party, the far-left BSW, is also getting a strong upstart, the opinion polls showed.

[52] Jackson, James; Cleave, Iona; Kelly, Kieran (1 September 2024). "German far-Right to win first state election since Nazi era". The Daily Telegraph. Berlin. The preliminary results showed large increases for both the far-Right AfD and the far-Left BSW in the eastern German state, while the Greens suffered heavy losses.

[53] Stroud, Liv (3 September 2024). "Germany grapples with far-right surge as AfD wins state election". Euronews. In Thuringia, none of the established parties managed to secure an absolute majority or even a coalition majority, and the main question remains whether the AfD can form a coalition with the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) or the conservative CDU.

[54] von der Burchard, Hans; Posaner, Joshua (24 August 2024). "German far right seizes on knife attack ahead of crucial state elections". The Politico. Berlin. 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.

[55] Cole, Deborah (29 August 2024). "'A test case for German democracy': populists ride high before state elections". The Guardian. Erfurt. 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).

[56] Rogers, Iain (2 September 2024). "German Far-Left Leader Turns Power Broker After State Votes". Bloomberg News. 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.

[57] Edwards, Christian; Otto, Claudio; Otto, Matties; Schmidt, Nadine (2 September 2024). "AfD becomes first far-right party to win German state election since 1945". CNN. 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.

[58] Macdougal, John (2 September 2024). "Election outcome highlights Germany's Ukraine war problem". Radio France Internationale. Berlin. 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.

[59] "German Chancellor Scholz calls on parties to isolate far right". Le Monde. Paris. 2 September 2024. 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.

[60] Colborne, Femke (2 September 2024). "Election outcome highlights Germany's Ukraine war problem". The Manhattan Mercury. 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.

[61] Ridgwell, Henry (3 September 2024). "German far-right surge raises doubts about Berlin's support for Ukraine". Voice of America. 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.

[62] Axelrod, Toby (3 September 2024). "Far-right party wins German state election for first time since the Nazi era". The Forward. A far-left party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance or BSW, also produced notable results, coming in third in Thuringia with 15.8% of the vote.

[63] "Today in Germany: A round-up of the latest news on Tuesday". The Local. 3 September 2024. 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.

[64] Waterfield, Bruno; Moody, Oliver (2 September 2024). "Germany election results: hard-right AfD set to win Thuringia". The Times. 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.

[65] Burmeister, Julian (3 September 2024). "Wie Deutschland international gesehen wird: Gibt es ein neues Image nach den Wahlen?". Südwestrundfunk (in German). 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.]

[8] Junginger, Bernhard (9 October 2023). "Die Linke liegt am Boden: Erster Schritt für Wagenknecht-Partei". Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.

[9] Vorreyer, Thomas (20 October 2023). "Bald neue Partei: Wo Sahra Wagenknecht hinwill". Tagesschau (in German). Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

[10] "Wagenknecht will Partei-Pläne am Montag vorstellen". Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (in German). 20 October 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

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[12] Hyun, Bona (23 April 2023). "Wagenknecht im Visier Putins? Deutsche Antikriegskoalition mit AfD soll Westen diskreditieren". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). ISSN 0940-6980. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.

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[51] 
"Germany's European Election Results: Key Takeaways". Martens Centre. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Nothing could be further away from the political programme if one carefully reads the BSW programme, which is pro-Russian, anti-capitalist, and anti-Western
Thomeczek, J. Philipp (1 September 2024). "Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis". Politische Vierteljahresschrift. 65 (3): 535–552. doi:10.1007/s11615-024-00544-z. ISSN 1862-2860. In the text, Wagenknecht shows strong anti-capitalist stances and describes the behaviour of economic elites (Wirtschaftseliten) as "irresponsible and immoral."
The Week UK (11 November 2023). "Sahra Wagenknecht: changing the face of German politics". TheWeek. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Wagenknecht is a true anti-capitalist who wants to soak the rich and expand the welfare state.
Eckner, Constantin (23 October 2023). "Will Germany's new left-wing party challenge the AfD?". The Spectator. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Over the past decade, Wagenknecht has become one of the most well-known left-wing politicians in Germany, regularly assuming anti-capitalist positions and thereby becoming an icon of the extreme left
"Oferte electorale est-germane - între putinofilie, anti-capitalism şi xenofobie" ["East German electoral offers - between putinophilia, anti-capitalism and xenophobia"]. RFI (in Romanian). 9 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024. În plină ascensiune se află şi formaţiunea naţional-populistă şi anti-capitalistă, Uniunea Sarah Wagenknecht (BSW). [The national-populist and anti-capitalist formation, the Sarah Wagenknecht Union (BSW), is also on the rise.]
Moreau, Patrick (February 2024). "The emergence of a conservative left in Germany: the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance – reason and justice (BSW)". Fondapol. Retrieved 4 September 2024. 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…
Baszak, Gregor (9 October 2023). "The Left-wing maverick who could stop the AfD". UnHerd. Retrieved 15 September 2024. Still, she continues to appeal to popular anti-capitalist sentiments.

[110] "Germany's European Election Results: Key Takeaways". Martens Centre. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Nothing could be further away from the political programme if one carefully reads the BSW programme, which is pro-Russian, anti-capitalist, and anti-Western

[111] Thomeczek, J. Philipp (1 September 2024). "Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW): Left-Wing Authoritarian—and Populist? An Empirical Analysis". Politische Vierteljahresschrift. 65 (3): 535–552. doi:10.1007/s11615-024-00544-z. ISSN 1862-2860. In the text, Wagenknecht shows strong anti-capitalist stances and describes the behaviour of economic elites (Wirtschaftseliten) as "irresponsible and immoral."

[112] The Week UK (11 November 2023). "Sahra Wagenknecht: changing the face of German politics". TheWeek. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Wagenknecht is a true anti-capitalist who wants to soak the rich and expand the welfare state.

[113] Eckner, Constantin (23 October 2023). "Will Germany's new left-wing party challenge the AfD?". The Spectator. Retrieved 31 August 2024. Over the past decade, Wagenknecht has become one of the most well-known left-wing politicians in Germany, regularly assuming anti-capitalist positions and thereby becoming an icon of the extreme left

[114] "Oferte electorale est-germane - între putinofilie, anti-capitalism şi xenofobie" ["East German electoral offers - between putinophilia, anti-capitalism and xenophobia"]. RFI (in Romanian). 9 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024. În plină ascensiune se află şi formaţiunea naţional-populistă şi anti-capitalistă, Uniunea Sarah Wagenknecht (BSW). [The national-populist and anti-capitalist formation, the Sarah Wagenknecht Union (BSW), is also on the rise.]

[115] Moreau, Patrick (February 2024). "The emergence of a conservative left in Germany: the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance – reason and justice (BSW)". Fondapol. Retrieved 4 September 2024. 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…

[116] Baszak, Gregor (9 October 2023). "The Left-wing maverick who could stop the AfD". UnHerd. Retrieved 15 September 2024. Still, she continues to appeal to popular anti-capitalist sentiments.

[soc_con-52] 
Philipp Fritz; Klaus Geiger; Virginia Kirst; Martina Meister; Mandoline Rutkowski (27 October 2023). "Hier finden sich Hinweise auf Wagenknechts Erfolgschancen" [Here are some indications of Wagenknecht's chances of success]. Die Welt (in German). "Auch hier zeigt sich eine Parallele zu Wagenknecht, die ihre Partei explizit sozialkonservativ ausrichtet und sich gegen von ihr als „woke"... [Here, too, there is a parallel to Wagenknecht, who explicitly aligns her party with social conservatism and opposes what she calls "woke"...]
Tlusty, Ann-Kristin (8 January 2024). "Vom Planeten Wagenknecht" [From planet Wagenknecht]. Die Zeit (in German). Neben Wagenknechts Haltungen zu Migration, Pandemie, Russland, Sozial- und Wirtschaftspolitik gibt es einen weiteren Aspekt, den ihre Anhängerinnen oft als Grund ihrer Sympathie nennen: Wagenknechts gesellschaftspolitischen Konservatismus, ihre Kritik an den sogenannten Lifestyle-Linken. [In addition to Wagenknecht's stances on migration, the pandemic, Russia, social and economic policy, there is another aspect that her supporters often cite as a reason for their sympathy: Wagenknecht's socio-political conservatism, her criticism of the so-called lifestyle left.]
Alipour, Nick (23 October 2023). "Germany's left-wing rebel launches populist party to run in EU elections". EURACTIV. 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.
Hildebrandt, Tim (3 November 2023). "Germany Has a New Player in Left-Wing Politics. Where Does It Stand on China?". The Diplomat. 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.
Knight, Ben (23 October 2023). "Wagenknecht: A far-left challenge to Germany's far-right AfD". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023. Some analysts say Wagenknecht is offering something that has never been seen before in Germany: Conservative social values allied with socialist economic values.

[118] Philipp Fritz; Klaus Geiger; Virginia Kirst; Martina Meister; Mandoline Rutkowski (27 October 2023). "Hier finden sich Hinweise auf Wagenknechts Erfolgschancen" [Here are some indications of Wagenknecht's chances of success]. Die Welt (in German). "Auch hier zeigt sich eine Parallele zu Wagenknecht, die ihre Partei explizit sozialkonservativ ausrichtet und sich gegen von ihr als „woke"... [Here, too, there is a parallel to Wagenknecht, who explicitly aligns her party with social conservatism and opposes what she calls "woke"...]

[119] Tlusty, Ann-Kristin (8 January 2024). "Vom Planeten Wagenknecht" [From planet Wagenknecht]. Die Zeit (in German). Neben Wagenknechts Haltungen zu Migration, Pandemie, Russland, Sozial- und Wirtschaftspolitik gibt es einen weiteren Aspekt, den ihre Anhängerinnen oft als Grund ihrer Sympathie nennen: Wagenknechts gesellschaftspolitischen Konservatismus, ihre Kritik an den sogenannten Lifestyle-Linken. [In addition to Wagenknecht's stances on migration, the pandemic, Russia, social and economic policy, there is another aspect that her supporters often cite as a reason for their sympathy: Wagenknecht's socio-political conservatism, her criticism of the so-called lifestyle left.]

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Revision as of 20:06, 1 October 2024

History

Background

Association registration

Party foundation

2024 state elections in East Germany

Intra-party structure

State organisations

Ideology and platform

Academic and media descriptions

Policies and political positions

Cultural issues

China

European Union and globalisation

Israel–Palestine conflict

Renewable and nuclear energy

Russia and Ukraine

Officials

Bundestag

European Parliament

State parliaments

Brandenburg

Thuringia

Other states

Election results

European Parliament

State Parliaments (Landtage)

Results timeline

Reactions

The Left (Die Linke)

Social Democratic Party (SPD)

Christian Democratic Union (CDU)

Alternative for Germany (AfD)

Media

See also

Notes

References

External links