Sahra Wagenknecht, born on July 16, 1969 in the city of Jena, still in the former East Germany, is currently one of the most controversial figures in European politics.
With a trajectory marked by his activism on the extreme left and, more recently, by the creation of his own party, Wagenknecht has established himself in recent months as a critical voice within Germany’s political spectrum, especially in discussions about immigration, economics and the war in Ukraine.
Daughter of a German mother and an Iranian father, Wagenknecht, 55, grew up under the socialist regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). From a young age, he showed an inclination towards left-wing philosophical and political thought, enrolling in Philosophy and Modern German Literature courses in 1990. She went to three different universities (in the cities of Jena, Berlin and Groningen) until completing her degree. After this period, in 1996, she completed a master’s degree in Germany, with a thesis on Karl Marx’s interpretation of Hegel, becoming known as a Marxist scholar. Years later, in 2012, she finished a doctorate in economics.
Since 2009 Wagenknecht has been a member of the Bundestag, the German Parliament. His political career, however, began in 1989, a few months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, when he joined the Unified Socialist Party, the communist party that commanded the then regime in the European country. After the reunification of Germany, Wagenknecht became part of the new Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), which soon afterwards merged with other parties to form the far-left party A Esquerda, in 2000. During his work at A Esquerda, Wagenknecht held several leadership positions, including vice-presidency of the party and head of the Bundestag bench.
At A Esquerda, Wagenknecht was a staunch defender of more radical policies, always positioning herself against the party’s most “moderate” tendencies. However, from 2015 onwards, her criticism of German migration policy, especially regarding the entry of Syrian refugees, began to move her away from her party’s mainstream line. Her speech against unrestricted immigration, the defense of greater border control and more recently her criticism of the sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have placed her in direct opposition to the leadership of A Esquerda. Such disagreements culminated in his departure from the party in 2023, a move seen as the prelude to the creation of his own political group.
On January 8 of this year, Sahra Wagenknecht founded her own party: the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, or BSW), a populist far-left party that has been rising quickly on the German political scene. With an agenda that combines left-wing economic policies, such as the unrestricted defense of state control, with a more “conservative” rhetoric, as Wagenknecht herself said, on cultural and immigration issues, BSW has tried to challenge the traditional division between the left and right.
The new party’s first results were surprising. In this year’s regional elections, the BSW came third in eastern German states such as Thuringia (where Wagenknecht’s hometown of Jena is located), Saxony and Brandenburg – places where the right-wing nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ) also obtained excellent results, ahead of BSW.
The regional elections confirmed Wagenknecht’s ability to appeal to voters dissatisfied with Germany’s traditional left. His success was driven, in part, by his criticism of what he classifies as the “disconnection of the political elite from the concerns of the working class”, especially in a scenario of economic crisis and high inflation.
In July, before the elections in the three states, Wagenknecht had already spoken about his party’s commitment to a “new political proposal”, which sought to win over voters dissatisfied with traditional parties.
“I believe that we simply represent and embody what many parties no longer defend: an enlightened conservatism in the sense of preserving traditions, security — on the streets and in public places, but also jobs, health and pensions. The need for security, peace and justice has found a new political home with us”, said the leftist leader, as reported by the state broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW).
Wagenknecht accuses Germany’s traditional left of having “turned away” from the real concerns of the working class, focusing on identity and cultural issues instead of prioritizing “social well-being and economic justice”.
Both Wagenknecht and BSW are against Germany’s current migration policy. The leftist leader’s party included in her speech the defense of an increase in deportations of immigrants who had their asylum application rejected in the country and the creation of more controls at the European country’s borders. Wagenknecht and his supporters claim that current German migration policy harms German-born workers.
In an interview with the German newspaper Der TagesspiegelWagenknecht commented that uncontrolled immigration in Germany has exacerbated housing problems in the country and in several other sectors.
“The situation in many schools is catastrophic, there is a shortage of teachers and, especially in poorer housing areas, many children are not learning German. In addition, cultural, radicalization and Islamist problems are emerging,” she said.
Conflict in Eastern Europe and relationship with the West
In addition to immigration issues, Wagenknecht also frequently expresses his opposition to Western sanctions against Russia. Her softer speech towards Vladimir Putin’s regime, which she claims is only in defense of peace and diplomacy, has drawn harsh criticism from her opponents, especially after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. German politicians claim that her stance towards the conflict has weakened the country’s position within the European Union (EU) and dangerously aligned it with Russian interests.
While many politicians in Germany support sanctions against Russia and arms shipments to Ukraine, Wagenknecht has criticized these measures, arguing that they only prolong the conflict in Eastern Europe and harm the continent’s economy. For the leftist leader, the solution must be diplomatic, and Germany must adopt a more neutral stance instead of following what she considers to be a “militaristic agenda” of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), of which Germany is a member. part, and the United States.
To the Der TagesspiegelWagenknecht expressed his vision on how he would negotiate an end to the conflict in Eastern Europe. In the interview, she stated that if she could negotiate with Putin, she would offer an immediate end to German and Western arms deliveries to Ukraine in exchange for a ceasefire.
“An end to arms deliveries, if he agreed to an immediate ceasefire on the current front line. And then it would have to be negotiated what will happen in the territories where the Russians are at the moment. The right thing to do would be to ask people in Donbass and Crimea, through a referendum under UN supervision, which country they want to belong to,” said the leftist leader.
With an eye on federal elections that should take place a year from now, Wagenknecht is one of the main voices within Germany against NATO. She believes the alliance plays a “destabilizing” role on the global stage, exacerbating tensions rather than promoting peace. Wagenknecht has criticized what he calls NATO’s “expansion into Eastern Europe”, arguing that it was a “strategic error” that alienated Russia and contributed to increased tensions between the West and Moscow. She is also strongly against Ukraine joining the military alliance.
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