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

A brand new populist pressure is shaking up German politics, says Ben Knight in Deutsche Welle (Bonn). No, not the hard-right Various for Germany (AfD), which had such spectacular successes in regional elections within the japanese states of Thuringia and Saxony earlier this month. The pressure I am referring to is Sahra Wagenknecht, the glamorous and divisive enigma who has emerged as kingmaker whereas the mainstream events attempt to hold the AfD out of coalition governments there. Wagenknecht is definitely a captivating determine, stated Thomas Fazi on UnHerd. As soon as an “icon of the German radical Left”, she solely arrange her social gathering, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), in January. But it was nonetheless capable of end third in each states that held elections: voters rallied behind its distinctive agenda of “left-conservatism”, which mixes socialist-style requires market regulation and better welfare funds with fierce criticism of navy support for Ukraine, and requires strict immigration insurance policies.

Wagenknecht at all times was one thing of an outsider, stated James Angelos on Politico (Brussels). Born in East Germany in 1969 to a German mom and Iranian father, she was raised by her grandparents after her father returned to Iran when she was three. As a toddler, she was teased for her black hair and darkish eyes; however by age 19, she had turn into energetic within the East German Communist Social gathering and he or she continued to carry the GDR up as a mannequin even after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. She went on to check philosophy, write an MA thesis (later printed as a guide) on Karl Marx’s interpretation of Hegel, and to turn into a number one member of Die Linke, the social gathering fashioned by an alliance of leftist events in 2007. However her robust line on immigration led to her being pushed out of the social gathering final yr, and he or she promptly introduced plans to arrange a celebration of her personal.

It was a choice grounded in her perception that “left-wing events not serve the working class”, stated Alessio Dell’Anna in Euronews (Brussels), that they’ve turn into too liberal on migration and too dogmatic of their pursuit of internet zero, which she “vehemently opposes”. And it has given her a robust platform from which to precise her, usually radical, views, stated Rainer Zitelmann in Focus (Berlin). She requires the dissolution of Nato and a safety pact with Russia; and has lavished reward on leaders from Stalin and Castro to Jeremy Corbyn.

Wagenknecht’s agenda won’t sound like a recipe for electoral success; but it surely appeals to loads of voters within the former GDR, stated Aiko Wagner in Der Spiegel (Hamburg). Many nonetheless establish as “Ossis”(easterners), and are extra anti-American, extra socially conservative and extra cautious of mass migration than their West German counterparts. They usually know that Wagenknecht is not the harmful radical she’s painted, stated Maritta Adam-Tkalec in Berliner Zeitung. Quite the opposite, she articulates positions many cheap individuals help: that we should always attempt for a ceasefire in Ukraine and train higher management over our borders. Should not we be glad such voters are backing the BSW, and never the extremist AfD?

Love her or hate her, Wagenknecht is in a robust place, stated Hugo Müller-Vogg in Cicero (Berlin). The conservative CDU (which completed second to the AfD in Thuringia, and scraped to victory in Saxony) is now contemplating governing in coalition with the BSW in each states. That would injury the fame of the CDU, the social gathering of Angela Merkel; stated Angelika Slavik in Süddeutsche Zeitung (Munich), but it surely’s the appropriate name. We’ll solely ever know if the BSW is able to being a constructive companion, if it lands a task in authorities. The omens aren’t encouraging, stated The Economist. Wagenknecht needs to play a task in coalition negotiations, regardless of not having stood as a candidate in both state. However in the end, the BSW’s unique concentrate on its eponymous chief will turn into an issue. Wagenknecht views herself as an outsider, a insurgent. However “as social gathering chief and kingmaker she’s going to want diplomacy and a expertise for compromise, expertise she has proven few indicators of possessing”.