bad news for Chancellor Scholz?

A new party, the Alliance, has just been created in Germany. At its head, a personality who promises to fundamentally change politics.

Her name is Sahra Wagenknecht. Eloquent, charismatic, reputed to be combative, this 54-year-old trained philosopher is a well-known figure in Germany: she is the most invited personality at the moment on TV sets.

To form her new party, Sahra Wagenknecht shattered the left-wing Linke group in the Bundestag, which she left with nine other deputies. Her movement aims to be anti-system, and is aimed, she says, at all those who no longer feel represented by any party: “We founded the new party to get rid of the political mistakes, incompetence and arrogance that reigns here in the Berlin region. All of this divides our country, compromises our future and endangers our democracy.”

Already in 2018, Sahra Wagenknecht tried to launch her own training before giving up. This time, things are better underway: his Alliance has already collected 1.4 million euros in donations. It has 44 members, who will soon be joined by 400 others, promises the leader.

The “return to reason” party

As for her position on the political spectrum, don’t ask Sahra Wagenknecht if her Alliance is left or right: she refuses labels. His party is simply that “back to reason”, she says. Clearly, the movement borrows ideas dear to the far-right, such as reducing the number of migrants or ending arms deliveries to Ukraine. Wagenknecht also defends a rapprochement with Moscow, to offer Germany a cheap energy supply.

Her social policy leans more to the left: in her program which takes up five pages, Sahra Wagenknecht promises to defend the working classes, to increase pensions, in short to take care of all those who are left behind by the government of Olaf Scholz.

A survey published in Bild last month credits the formation of 12% of voting intentions in the event of federal elections. Not so bad, since the party has not yet revealed its program. The moment is in any case well chosen for Sahra Wagenknecht, who wants to take advantage of the unpopularity of Olaf Scholz’s government and the discontent with the increase in immigration in a Germany whose economy is slowing down.

Sahra Wagenknecht also hopes to appeal to voters in the former East Germany, where she comes from. There is a strong feeling of abandonment in these regions and in three of them, regional elections are planned for September. These will be interesting barometers to know if the graft has taken place, if this new party manages to establish itself in the political landscape.