A radical left-wing politician who seeks to make peace with Russia’s Vladimir Putin is set to play a key role in regional elections in eastern Germany on Sunday (September 1, 2024).
Born in communist East Germany to an Iranian father and a German mother, Sahra Wagenknecht, 55, broke away from the far-left Die Linke last year to form her own party, BSW.
Wagenknecht has caused a stir in Germany by calling for dialogue with Putin, an end to government support for Ukraine and a crackdown on immigration.
Despite his lead in opinion polls, Wagenknecht’s campaign has not been smooth; a suspect was arrested at a rally on Thursday evening after he was sprayed with red paint.
“We will not be intimidated,” Wagenknecht said in a post on X after the incident.
The BSW won 6.2% of the vote in the EU elections in June and is expected to receive between 15 and 20% in Saxony and Thuringia on Sunday.
At a recent rally in his hometown of Jena, Wagenknecht spoke passionately about his upbringing in East Germany and his “fear of an atomic bomb falling on Europe.”
“Now the fear is back,” he said.
BSW wants to stop arms supplies to Ukraine and rejects plans to allow the US to periodically deploy long-range missiles in Germany.
Wagenknecht also called for tougher immigration laws, days after a Syrian man allegedly stabbed three people to death in the western city of Solingen.
He said BSW wanted to “reverse” the current government’s immigration policy.
“We cannot welcome the whole world to Germany.”
Kingmaker?
According to opinion polls for Sunday’s elections, the right-wing AfD is the largest party in Thuringia with around 30% of the vote, while in Saxony it is in first place in a close contest with the conservative CDU.
The AfD is also leading in Brandenburg, a third eastern German state, where elections are due in late September.
However, the AfD is unlikely to come to power in any of these states even if it wins, as other parties have refused to cooperate with it to form a majority.
This could leave mainstream parties struggling to form a ruling coalition – and Wagenknecht’s party could ultimately become the kingmaker.
while talking to AFPWagenknecht said the upcoming elections would be “very important” for his party.
“If we manage to win double-digit votes in each of these regional parliaments, we will not be seen as just a media phenomenon, but as a party that is set to change the politics of our country,” he said.
In fact, the “interesting question” about the regional elections will be “how strong the Sahra Wagenknecht coalition will be in the end,” said Marianne Knauer, a professor of politics at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden).
“It is possible that the BSW could become an important factor in forming coalitions in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony,” said Cuer, predicting that the new party could also enter the national parliament for the first time next year.
‘Completely absurd’
Wagenknecht pointed out AFP He acknowledged that “Putin started a war contrary to international law” but said “the West also has its own responsibility”.
“If we had taken Russia’s security concerns seriously, we could have avoided this conflict,” he said.
He rejected allegations that some members of his party had spread misinformation in support of Russia, saying “it is shameful to accuse us of such a thing.”
“We are accused of being the voice of Moscow or representing the Russian stance because we are in favour of peace talks, which is completely absurd,” he said.
On the issue of immigration, Wagenknecht cited Denmark’s restrictive policy as an example that Germany could follow.
“They have drastically reduced their numbers by signalling to the whole world that if your asylum application is rejected there is no hope of staying there,” he said.
Some have pointed out that the BSW’s positions on Ukraine and immigration are broadly similar to those of the AfD, but Wagenknecht has denied any cooperation with the far right.
“There is a very radical right-wing faction in the AfD, especially in the east,” he said.
His party “cannot form an alliance with those with ethnic nationalist ideology.”
“The most important thing for me is peace,” Margit Hoffmann, an 83-year-old retired nurse, said at the rally in Jena.
“Germany’s public money should not be used on the supply of arms, but on other things,” said Hoffmann, leaning on his walking frame.