Sahra Wagenknecht: the left-wing populist who is Germany’s new kingmaker

A new populist force is shaking up German politics, says Ben Knight in Deutsche Welle (Bonn). No, not the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which had such spectacular successes in regional elections in the eastern states of Thuringia and Saxony earlier this month. The force I'm referring to is Sahra Wagenknecht, the glamorous and divisive enigma who has emerged as kingmaker while the mainstream parties try to keep the AfD out of coalition governments there. Wagenknecht is certainly a fascinating figure, said Thomas Fazi on UnHerd. Once an "icon of the German radical Left", she only set up her party, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), in January. Yet it was still able to finish third in both states that held elections: voters rallied behind its unique agenda of "left-conservatism", which mixes socialist-style calls for market regulation and higher welfare payments with fierce criticism of military aid for Ukraine, and calls for strict immigration policies.

Wagenknecht always was something of an outsider, said James Angelos on Politico (Brussels). Born in East Germany in 1969 to a German mother and Iranian father, she was raised by her grandparents after her father returned to Iran when she was three. As a child, she was teased for her black hair and dark eyes; but by age 19, she had become active in the East German Communist Party and she continued to hold the GDR up as a model even after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. She went on to study philosophy, write an MA thesis (later published as a book) on Karl Marx's interpretation of Hegel, and to become a leading member of Die Linke, the party formed by an alliance of leftist parties in 2007. But her tough line on immigration led to her being driven out of the party last year, and she promptly announced plans to set up a party of her own.

It was a decision grounded in her belief that "left-wing parties no longer serve the working class", said Alessio Dell'Anna in Euronews (Brussels), that they have become too liberal on migration and too dogmatic in their pursuit of net zero, which she "vehemently opposes". And it has given her a strong platform from which to express her, often radical, views, said Rainer Zitelmann in Focus (Berlin). She calls for the dissolution of Nato and a security pact with Russia; and has lavished praise on leaders from Stalin and Castro to Jeremy Corbyn.

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Wagenknecht's agenda might not sound like a recipe for electoral success; but it appeals to plenty of voters in the former GDR, said Aiko Wagner in Der Spiegel (Hamburg). Many still identify as "Ossis"(easterners), and are more anti-American, more socially conservative and more wary of mass migration than their West German counterparts. And they know that Wagenknecht isn't the dangerous radical she's painted, said Maritta Adam-Tkalec in Berliner Zeitung. On the contrary, she articulates positions many reasonable people support: that we should strive for a ceasefire in Ukraine and exercise better control over our borders. Shouldn't we be glad such voters are backing the BSW, and not the extremist AfD?

Love her or hate her, Wagenknecht is in a powerful position, said Hugo Müller-Vogg in Cicero (Berlin). The conservative CDU (which finished second to the AfD in Thuringia, and scraped to victory in Saxony) is now considering governing in coalition with the BSW in both states. That could damage the reputation of the CDU, the party of Angela Merkel; said Angelika Slavik in Süddeutsche Zeitung (Munich), but it's the right call. We'll only ever know if the BSW is capable of being a constructive partner, if it lands a role in government. The omens aren't encouraging, said The Economist. Wagenknecht wants to play a role in coalition negotiations, despite not having stood as a candidate in either state. But sooner or later, the BSW's exclusive focus on its eponymous leader will become a problem. Wagenknecht views herself as an outsider, a rebel. But "as party leader and kingmaker she will need diplomacy and a talent for compromise, skills she has shown few signs of possessing".