Personality cult around Sahra Wagenknecht: that’s what makes her so successful (and dangerous) ‘Kiss attack’ on Annalena Baerbock is something to talk about – these are the reactions

The departure of Sahra Wagenknecht from the left cannot certainly be regarded as a peaceful separation, but rather as a noisy departure with slamming doors.

The politician took nine other MPs with him. Your followers. They want to remain part of the group for the time being. According to “Zeit” information from faction circles, the left will vote on this in the first half of November.

According to ‘RND’, which also quotes from faction circles, it is unlikely that the ten MPs will remain in the faction. This would massively decimate the left-wing parliamentary group in the Bundestag. So far there is no question of the Wagenknechtlers getting their mandate back. Instead, the left will likely have to fight for theirs Fear of faction status.

Wagenknecht is now planning big things with her name: she wants to found her own party in 2024. It will probably be called ‘Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht’. It sounds like a personality cult.

Her words are polarizing, they apparently fascinate enough people. “The history of the left since the 2019 European elections is the history of political failure,” Wagenknecht explains in a letter about her departure from the party. However, a few paragraphs later it says that she would leave “without rancor and without being kicked.” A contradiction.

Nevertheless: how does Wagenknecht manage to get people behind him?

The media star Wagenknecht – “a bipolar populist”

“Wagenknecht uses the entire toolbox of populist rhetoric,” says political and communications advisor Johannes Hillje when asked by Watson. “It is polarizing, emotional, provocative. Wagenknecht combines left and right populism, she is a bipolar populist.”

Wagenknecht is, above all, a media star. Over the past ten years, she has consistently been one of the most invited talk show guests. The reason: her astute answers to economic questions, the staging as the reincarnation of Rosa Luxemburg and of course the contact with the right people at the right time.

In recent years, the ex-left has acquired the superpower of facial recognition. Anyone who has it, like Jens Spahn (CDU) or publicist Marina Weisband (Greens), is always invited to talk shows. Because viewers are more likely to get stuck if they discover a familiar face while browsing.

Hillje confirms:

In a nutshell, she achieved all this as a left-wing critic with economic competence. A field in which she encountered virtually no competition.

This is what it could look like for Wagenknecht’s future party.

Wagenknecht could close the gap between the left and the AfD

“Wagenknecht’s rhetoric is characterized by catchy dualisms such as ‘good versus evil’, ‘people versus elite’ or ‘poor versus rich’,” says Hillje. “Simple answers to complex questions make them attractive”he decides.

She accuses the Left Party of “a lack of concentration on social justice and peace” and uses this to tell the story of their “exclusion”. She and the other outgoing MPs “warned that the focus on urban, young, activist environments is driving away our traditional voters”.

Until now, Wagenknecht has been seen as an alternative to anger, rage, protest – and in talk shows as an alternative to the fascist Björn Höcke (AfD). Current research on the possible success of your party is highly contradictory. However, they have one thing in common: in every report about this, the future party is (not entirely wrongly) portrayed as a protest party.

According to the research group led by political scientist Sarah Wagner, a Sahra-Wagenknecht party would have the potential to “bridge the gap between the left and the AfD.” Because:

In this way, Wagenknecht was able to convince both classical social democrats and conservatives. The research group describes this electoral divide as ‘left-authoritarian’. So a classic left-wing idea of ​​distributive justice in conjunction with social conservatism, rather than progressive ideas, such as more environmental protection or liberal migration policies. Wagenknecht himself speaks of ‘left-wing conservatism’.

Their intentions are similar to a currently central narrative from conservatives to the (extreme) right: People’s dissatisfaction is not based on the climate crisis, but on the proposals to combat it. Not about the discrimination against minorities, but about their outrage about it. Not about a failed migration policy, but about the refugees themselves.

Despite successful rhetoric, Wagenknecht is confronted with problems

However, you should not forget that in the end people choose not only a person, but also a program. “Wagenknecht could therefore fail,” says Johannes Hillje. And: “Wagenknecht is more of a brand than a party. So far it has not convinced people with its specific program, but rather with its cult of personality.”

Wagenknecht’s media machine worked tirelessly and efficiently, especially in the early 1910s. However, she was unable to maintain this success in the long term. As a critic of the measures surrounding the corona pandemic, she was less present than in her role as a left-wing economic critic. At the beginning of this year, she and controversial ‘Emma’ editor Alice Schwarzer called for peace negotiations with Russia.

A protest – but in terms of real politics there was little left of it. And that is also the challenge that Wagenknecht could now face with her party: in the short term she could attract large groups of voters. However, failure to mobilize the grassroots could lead to its failure in the long run.

Wagenknecht – a narcissistic populist?

And there is another, not entirely unimportant point that could cause Wagenknecht problems: the naming of her future party – ‘Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht’. Although it wouldn’t last long, she explained that initially she wanted to win over voters.

“It’s a party of personality that thrives on media hype. The name of the party stands for hyper-personalization», says Hillje.

This limitation of a party to one person seems unusual for Germany. But we remember Gerhard Schröder (SPD) – he became famous because he became popular with the media and the population. So there has long been potential for charismatic populists. Unlike Wagenknecht, however, Schröder hijacked his own party.

Hillje gives the Wagenknechtparty a pessimistic report: «A party dependent on one person cannot survive permanently. The hyper-personalization of the Wagenknecht Party could soon become a problem.”

In concrete terms, this means: Wagenknecht cannot, for example, participate in the European and state elections at the same time; other people should do that. “The projection surface of the Wagenknechtparty will become smaller due to more staff and more programming.” However, Hillje also warns: “Current polls are more divination than science, as many aspects of the party are still unclear.”