The party bears her name: Sahra Wagenknecht inspires her fellow campaigners at the first BSW party conference in Berlin. Internally, she promotes “careful treatment”. Outwardly she deals violently.
Berlin – With sharp attacks against the traffic light coalition, Sahra Wagenknecht has prepared her new party for the 2024 election year. At the first party conference of the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, the founder once again called the traffic light “the stupidest government in Europe” and accused it of leading the country into crisis and, in the worst case, war. “Our country absolutely needs a political new beginning,” said the 54-year-old former left-wing politician in Berlin.
She broke with the left at the end of 2023 and founded the new party with her name at the beginning of January. She herself is chairwoman, together with the former left-wing faction leader Amira Mohamed Ali.
Around 380 members gathered at the Kosmos cinema in Berlin for the first nationwide party conference. They gave Wagenknecht enthusiastic applause for the speech, which the party leader concluded with the words: “We have big plans for our country and for the people who have great expectations of us. We owe it to them to do our job well.”
“We are not Left 2.0”
Internally, Wagenknecht warned the BSW to pull together. The party members are very diverse, including trade unionists, entrepreneurs, nurses, police officers, theologians, city dwellers and villagers. The party will only be successful if the members see this diversity as an advantage. “We are not Left 2.0, that must also apply to how we treat each other,” said Wagenknecht. “Let’s treat each other with care.”
Wagenknecht sharply criticized other parties, including the Union and the AfD. The AfD stands for record spending on armaments, and CDU leader Friedrich Merz in the Chancellery would “certainly not be the lesser evil.” However, she attacked the traffic light most harshly and accused it of being incompetent and aloof. Because of the arms deliveries to Ukraine, Wagenknecht spoke of “inhumane politics.”
For an “end to armament”
In addition to peace and freedom of expression, Wagenknecht named the pursuit of more social justice as central political issues. Specifically, she called for, among other things: a higher minimum wage of at least 14 euros per hour, better pensions at a level like in Austria, a health system without pressure on returns, affordable energy, a rent cap, a move away from economic sanctions against Russia and “an end to the arms buildup”.
Her husband Oskar Lafontaine, former SPD and Left chairman, said that the BSW was the only party that consistently advocated for peace and disarmament. He accused Israel of “war crimes” in the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire and peace negotiations are necessary not only there, but also in Ukraine. In view of history, it is reprehensible for Germany to “supply weapons with which Russians can be murdered again”.
BSW General Secretary Christian Leye emphasized the demarcation from the AfD. This feeds on people's desperation, but does not advocate for it. Leye said people with incomes of 300,000 euros or more would benefit most from the AfD program. “This is not an anti-establishment party.”
New board members
Wagenknecht, Mohamed Ali, Leye and several other board members were elected at the beginning of January. The board has now been expanded. The former leftists Friederike Benda and Amid Rabieh became vice chairmen. The journalist Michael Lüders, the Bundestag members Alexander Ulrich and Zaklin Nastic and the former member Sabine Zimmermann joined the extended board. Former SPD politician Thomas Geisel had the worst result in the board election with 66 percent.
A total of 20 candidates were also elected for the European elections in June. In first place is the former leftist Fabio De Masi, ahead of Geisel in second place and the former diplomat Michael von derschulenburg in third place. The party congress unanimously approved the election program entitled: “An independent Europe of sovereign democracies – peaceful and just”. This raises fundamental criticism and calls for significant changes. “The EU in its current constitution is damaging the European idea,” it is said.
For fewer EU requirements
The thrust is fewer EU requirements. If necessary, Germany should not adhere to EU rules: The BSW advocates “the non-implementation of EU regulations at the national level if they run counter to economic reason, social justice, peace, democracy and freedom of expression”. This would contradict the principle that the EU rules negotiated by governments and the European Parliament are binding for all 27 member states.
Among other things, it calls for the abolition of trading in CO2 certificates, which has so far been a central instrument of climate protection policy: “This certificate trading is completely unsuitable for achieving climate policy goals,” says the program. It calls for the indefinite use of combustion engines and a return to imports of oil and gas from Russia. Further points: Relax debt rules, cap the EU budget, stop expansion for the time being. dpa
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