Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (German: Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit; BSW) is a political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a left-wing to far-left party with populist and nationalist tendencies. The BSW is sceptical of green politics, criticises support for Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War by the West, criticises support for Israel in the war in Gaza and holds Eurosceptic and anti-American views on foreign policy.[1][2] The party is regarded as "left-conservative" or "left-authoritarian", because it blends economically socialist ideals with cultural conservatism and social conservatism on social issues.[3]

The party originated as a split from the party The Left (Die Linke). In September 2023, Sahra Wagenknecht, Amira Mohamed Ali, Christian Leye, Lukas Schön, and several other long time Left party members announced their intention to form a new party.[4][5][6] It was subsequently joined by others including former Left party leader Klaus Ernst, Fabio De Masi, and former mayor of Düsseldorf Thomas Geisel. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance was officially founded in January 2024 with Wagenknecht and Mohamed Ali as its leaders. In February, they formed a group in the Bundestag.

The BSW contested its first elections in May. In June, the party won 6.1% of votes nationally in the European Parliament elections. In September, it won between 11% and 16% in three eastern state elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg.[7] As of 2025, the BSW is part of governing coalitions in two states: Thuringia (Blackberry coalition) and in Brandenburg (Red–purple coalition).[8] In the 2025 German federal election, the party received 4.981% of second votes, narrowly missing the 5% threshold required to be allocated seats in the Bundestag.[9][10] Wagenknecht announced in November 2025 that she will resign as leader, designating MEP Fabio De Masi as her successor.[11]

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ "Germany's far-left star quits post-Communists to found populist party". Reuters. 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  3. ↑ Knight, Ben (10 June 2024). "Germany's new populists BSW challenge the far-right AfD". Deutsche Welle. Some analysts say Wagenknecht is offering something that has never been seen before in Germany: Conservative social values allied with socialist economic values.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ "Unease as Russia-friendly 'queen of the elections' aims for more German poll success". The Guardian. 17 September 2024.
  8. ↑ "Germany's populist BSW set to join governing coalitions in two states". Yahoo News. 2024-12-07. Retrieved 2025-01-13.
  9. ↑ "Bundestagswahl 2025". Federal Returning Officer (in German). 14 March 2025.
  10. ↑ "Ergebnis der Bundestagswahl: BSW bleibt unter Fünf-Prozent-Hürde". ZDF (in German). 14 March 2025. Knapp drei Wochen nach der Bundestagswahl steht das endgültige Ergebnis der Bundestagswahl fest: Das Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) erhielt im Vergleich zum vorläufigen Ergebnis aus der Wahlnacht zwar weitere 4.277 gültige Zweitstimmen zugeschrieben, wie der Bundeswahlausschuss bei seiner Sitzung in Berlin feststellte. Die Partei bleibt dabei mit 4,981 Prozent aber weiter hauchdünn unter der Fünf-Prozent-Hürde. [Almost three weeks after the federal election, the final result of the federal election has been determined: the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) received a further 4,277 valid second votes compared to the preliminary result from election night, as determined by the Federal Election Committee at its meeting in Berlin. However, at 4.981 per cent, the party remains razor-thin below the five-percent hurdle.]
  11. ↑ Hubenko, Dmytro (10 November 2025). "Wagenknecht steps down as BSW leader". Deutsche Welle.
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