Sahra Wagenknecht left Germany’s most left-wing parliamentary party to establish her own populist formation based on scepticism of both green issues and support for Ukraine, according to Reuters.
Wagenknecht stated on Monday that she would seek to bring disaffected voters from the left and right to her side.
Many no longer know who to vote for or vote for the right out of rage and despair. It can’t go on like this. Otherwise we probably won’t recognise our own country in ten years’ time.
Germany is currently suffering from high energy prices and inflation, and public support for parties such as Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left coalition or Janine Wissler’s left-wing party is waning.
The split in public support has allowed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party to come second in several recent elections.
Sahra Wagenknecht stated:
I was described as close to Putin or pro-Russian for wanting a negotiated solution in Ukraine. It’s your legitimate right not to like us or not share our positions. But … don’t take the cheap route of ascribing to us things we don’t represent.
She calls for tougher immigration policies, opposes sending weapons to Ukraine and urges a negotiated solution to the military conflict with Russia.
A recent poll conducted for T-Online showed that about 20 per cent of voters would consider voting for her new party. According to most polls, the AfD party has about 20 per cent of the vote, trailing the Conservatives by about 30 per cent.
