In January of this year, the party "Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht - Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit" (Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance - Reason and Justice / BSW) was founded. This was preceded by a months-long process of alienation of the eponymous protagonist from the party "Die Linke" (Left Party), which ultimately led to her resignation and the founding of a new party. The German Bundestag has now recognised the BSW MPs who dropped out of the Left Party as a separate group. The alliance around Sahra Wagenknecht intends to run in the European elections on 9 June 2024 and also has its sights set on the East German state elections in 2024.

Against this backdrop, it is not only the history of the new party's formation that is interesting, but also its structures and members. Most of them formerly belonged to the Left Party. The previous donation financing by an initially founded association has also already come under public scrutiny. 

In terms of content, the recently adopted programme for the European elections is characterised by a critical stance on the European Union and socio-politically conservative positions, but also includes classic left-wing demands in social policy. This positioning of the BSW, which can be described as "left-wing conservatism", is aimed at a large number of voter groups that are to be addressed with an anti-establishment stance and sometimes populist demands. In terms of foreign policy, the pro-Russia positions in the context of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine are striking.

Read the entire party monitor on the "Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance" here as a PDF.

The full publication is only available in German.