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Germany/ The Sahra Wagenknecht phenomenon and the AfD party

2023-08-10 07:19:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

How could Sahra Wagenknecht damage the AfD party? Sahra Wagenknecht from the Left party, thinks of creating a new party. This would cause more concern for the far-right AfD party.

Like no other German politician, Sahra Wagenknecht is considered someone who stirs up blood, not only by her political opponents but also by her own camp. The former chairwoman of the parliamentary group of the 'Left' party in the German parliament, always causes trouble for fellow deputies due to her disrespect for party discipline and the great attention that Wagenknecht constantly receives from the media.

At a time when the Left party has fallen in the polls below the 5 percent representation threshold, and if elections were held today, would fail to enter parliament, Wagenknecht's popularity has continued to rise. The leadership of the party has repeatedly asked Wagenknecht to clarify his position towards his own party, there has also been talk of giving an ultimatum for exclusion from the party.

There has been speculation for months that Wagenknecht will create her own party, not least because according to a poll by the Civey Institute, published at the end of July, 20 percent of Germans "imagine in principle" voting for a party , which would be led by the left-wing politician, Wagenknecht.

Wagenknecht, who regularly appears on German political talk shows, returned last year to spearhead a "peace campaign" urging the West to stop arming Ukraine to defend against Russian attack. In addition, Wagenknecht has criticized the leadership of the Left party, which bows to the leftists, the so-called "Left with a left lifestyle", whose policy for the integration of minorities, puts out of play, according to her, the basic electorate of the Left party.

(ed. Sarah Wagenknecht, calls Lifestyle-Left - the Left in the way of living-, those who do not put social and political-economic problems at the center of politics, but the issue of lifestyle, consumption and moral attitude.)

The Wagenknecht phenomenon – a danger to the right wing?

Wagenknecht enjoys great popularity, especially in the east of Germany. A poll by Thuringia's Insa institute in July found that a new party led by Wagenknecht would win if elections were held in the state where she was born, with 25 percent of the vote, three percent more than the partially extreme right-wing party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), which would thus move into second place. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the chairman of the AfD, the Thuringian Björn Höcke, also known for provocation issues, invited Wagenknecht after a "peaceful demonstration" held in February, to switch to the AfD.

For fellow Left party and former Wagenknecht associate Christian Leye, this shows that the AfD fears her more than anyone else on the spectrum of German politics. "Sahra Wagenknecht is a credible critic of the situation, she dares to criticize the government in clear words," he tells Deutsche Wellen. "She can turn into a peaceful social and political alternative for all those who have the right to be unhappy. And this is very necessary, precisely because it is not allowed to give way to a party like AfD."

Political science researcher Sarah Wagner from the University of Mannheim has dealt with the Wagenknecht phenomenon. She has seen that Wagenknecht is as popular among AfD supporters as the AfD leadership is. "We see that precisely the topic of migration is seen as very connected to Wagenknecht," says Wagner in conversation with DW. migration, but there are also those who generally have a conservative attitude. That means they're critical of climate protection or against rights for the LGBTQ community."

Wagner says that a large part of current AfD members are not very committed to the party, so they could be won over by another party. "These are voters who are dissatisfied with democracy, who have a conservative attitude. Many of them do not feel well with the AfD, but they do not see any other party to vote for."

Conservative values, socialist economic plans

Some observers think Wagenknecht offers Germany an unusual combination: conservative social values ??tied to socialist economic plans. "We can't say exactly how many people are oriented by left-wing conservative values," says Wagner. But what can be said is that this group is not small.

Such a Wagenknecht party would be similar on the international stage, perhaps to the Socialist Party of the Netherlands, which represents a hard line on migration issues, or to the Greek Communist Party, which has voted against the law to institutionalize marriage between two people of the same gender.

Wagner's study has concluded that the potential for a Wagenknecht party lies mainly in eastern Germany.

Otherwise, says Wagner, there is no specific population group to which she is addressing: Wagenknecht's followers are neither young nor old, neither predominantly male or female, nor part of a particular stratum. . So Wagenknecht can potentially reach a lot of people.

Will she dare?

Wagenknecht has announced that he will not make a decision until the end of the year about the next step he will take. If he creates a new party, then this could cost the political existence of the Left party, thanks to which Wagenknecht made his political career. Because surely Wagenknecht would be joined by some deputies, members and followers of the Left party.

Even for Wagenknecht the step itself would be difficult. Born in 1969 in Jena, Thuringia, with a German mother and an Iranian father, politician Wagenknecht has spent practically her entire life in the party, which today is called the Left party. Since before the breakup of East Germany, she has been a member of the predecessor party of the Left party, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany SED, which has been in power in communist East Germany.

If he decides to break away, then Wagenknecht's campaign would have this plan: Running for European elections next spring to test the ground, followed by general elections for state parliaments in the three East German states of Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia. , in the fall of 2024.

Whether the AfD will continue to grow will depend on the decision that Wagenknecht will make, and with it the political future of Germany will also depend./ DW