Report: Sahra Wagenknecht sets up her own party Shot dead on film set: Public prosecutor wants new charges against Alec Baldwin

Sahra Wagenknecht, currently a politician with the German party Die Linke, has decided to set up her own party. This is reported by Spiegel, which is based on several sources from its environment. Apparently Wagenknecht will announce the foundation at a press conference on Monday.

As “Spiegel” further writes, the first step is to establish an association called “BSW – For Reason and Justice eV” and present it publicly. The abbreviation BSW stands for “Alliantie Sahra Wagenknecht”. This association should then serve to establish a party, which will take place in a next step. A document must be presented on Monday, which should be a kind of draft program for the new party.

Wagenknecht is one of the best-known politicians in Germany and has long been the figurehead of the left. She has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2009 and was parliamentary group leader from 2015 to 2019. Yet there were repeated arguments with her party – Wagenknecht repeatedly attracted attention with controversial statements. Most recently, she spoke out against arms shipments to Ukraine. On several topics, Wagenknecht’s views correspond with those of the right-wing populist AfD.

If Wagenknecht actually announces the party’s founding on Monday, it could have a greater impact on the German political landscape. According to an ntv report from the summer, about 60 percent of left-wing voters could vote for Wagenknecht’s party. According to a survey, it would immediately be the strongest force in the state of Thuringia with around 25 percent of the vote – even ahead of the AfD. (dab)