Sahra Wagenknecht's BSW alliance, formed on an anti-migration platform, is struggling to maintain momentum after an initial surge in support. Meanwhile, Germany's Left party, facing an existential crisis, has seen a resurgence in popularity as voters reject Wagenknecht's controversial policies.
Sahra Wagenknecht ’s populist BSW alliance falters after its anti-migration programme initially chimed with voters Left party co-leaders Jan van Aken and Ines Schwerdtner, and the party's co-leader in the Bundestag Heidi Reichinnek , at the party's election campaign launch in Berlin on January 29th.
Photograph: Christian Mang/Getty ImagesRumours of the German Left party’s demise were not exaggerated when, three weeks ago, party leaders laid wreaths on the Berlin graves of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. While the red carnations and speeches recalled the past – the brutal 1919 murders of the Communist Party co-founders, the Left’s spiritual and political parents – many of the 3,000 people in the graveyard were more preoccupied with their political future after the snap election called for February 23rd.to form a new alliance, BSW. Their old party, according to Wagenknecht, had been captured by wokeist culture warriors more preoccupied with pronouns than real voters’ concerns over the cost of living and war in Europe. Eastern German voters appeared to agree with her diagnosis: elections in three states last September saw a huge swing from the Left to the BSW.Auschwitz survivors to visit home of former camp commander Rudolf HössLicking its wounds and now facing an existential federal election, the Left has gone back to basics with a manifesto promising “democratic socialism”: taxing the rich to support the working class through rent caps and energy subsidies. Climate protection and social justice are “inextricably linked”, it adds. The BSW-Wagenknecht alliance questions climate change policies and prioritises social assistance for German citizens over new arrivals. BSW alliance leader Sahra Wagenknecht speaks during a rally at the launch of the party's election campaign in Munich on Monday. Photograph: Michaela Stache/AFP via Getty Images Wagenknecht’s pro-Russian, climate-sceptic and anti-migration programme chimed with eastern German voters last autumn, many with memories of cold war ties to the Soviet Union. In chilly campaign appearances around the rest of Germany now, it’s proving a more difficult sell. Many western Germans in particular see her call for a negotiated peace in Ukraine, and resumption of Russian energy deliveries, as Kremlin kowtow politics. At a recent rally in Munich, when Wagenknecht bemoaned the “new arms race” in Europe, protestors began chanting “Moscow out!” Time is not working in favour of the 13-month-old Wagenknecht party, either. Facing into an election seven months early has robbed the BSW of time to build up a campaign war chest and more robust party structures. After a surge last year to double-digit support, it is now struggling to clear the five per cent hurdle. BSW officials, many of whom enjoyed riding last autumn’s wave of media hype, complain now in public that the same media outlets are “deliberately downplaying” the party to “keep it down”. In private, the same officials accept that some of its policies − in particular warnings over war in Europe − are no longer of primary voter concern. Also damaging are inner-party tensions, particularly over Wagenknecht’s dominant leadership role − and her risky migration strategy. Seven BSW Bundestag parliamentarians also backed the proposals, prompting a storm of protest in some quarters and a walkout of senior Bavarian party officials. In a statement they warned of a “populist escalation” in the BSW that “promotes unnecessary social divisions and runs the risk of adopting right-wing rhetoric”.That echoes with their old political home, which is demanding a “solidarity-based” approach to migration that allows new arrivals in Germany to work rather than depend on controversial state handouts. A banner with an AI image depicting AfD co-chairwoman Alice Weidel and CDU leader of Friedrich Merz is held up during a protest outside the CDU headquarters in Berlin on Sunday. Photograph: Omer Messinger/Getty Images Following a march of 160,000 people on the CDU’s Berlin party headquarters on Sunday, Left party co-leader Ines Schwerdtner senses an “unbelievable energy that has clarified and focused political positions”. In the last two weeks alone, she says, her party has gained 11,000 new members to reach its highest level since 2010. “Clearly many people have just been waiting for a left-wing party with a clear path that they can get involved with,” she says. Years of decline in opinion polls for the party have been halted and support for the Left has risen again, to slide past the five per cent hurdle required for Bundestag representation. Germany’s political landscape is facing transformation, analysts agree, but how radical the shift depends on whether the Left or the BSW − or both − make it into the next Bundestag. Analysts it is not a given that the recent migration debate will lure traditional working class voters back to the Left from the AfD, which remains steady in second place in the polls with 21 per cent support. “Many workers are conservative, distrustful of migrants and transgender people, feel overwhelmed by discussions regarding sexism and racism, and are critical of climate policies,” noted sociologist Steffen Mau in a recent book, Trigger Points. As BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht battles for attention in a crowded field, the three-decade political veteran has conceded “the election is, of course, a decision on my political future”. As her BSW star sinks to four per cent in the polls, her old party has nudged ahead to six per cent and Left veterans feel the wind in their sails. For them, and others on Germany’s political left, February 23rd will establish like never before whether the last item on their agenda was the split.Donald Trump says Gaza will be ‘turned over to the US by Israel’ Shock and upset at death of couple in Kerry expressed by former colleagues of ‘brilliant, bright’ Hazel ByrneRestaurant review: This neighbourhood Indian spot has the potential to become a foodie destinationScotland v Ireland: Sam Prendergast set to retain place at outhalf with changes to be kept to a minimum ‘If we just focus on paramilitaries, we’re missing the bigger picture': Study on trauma in Northern Ireland shows need for concerted action
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