With 9 close associates, Wagenknecht left the ranks of the Left. Source: Flickr.com/Hubert Burda Media, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEEDThe welfare state “without green fanabers”, political correctness and support for Ukraine. "Germany First". Is this a political program known for the controversial position of the German AfD party? Not really. These are postulates of a new, termed left-wing formation, founded by a pardonless politician, until late associated with the group of die Linke, Sahra Wagenknecht.
Wagenknecht was born in 1969 in Jena, then located in the German Democratic Republic. Interestingly, especially in the context of her later anti-immigrant statements, Wagenknecht herself is simply a individual with a migrant background, daughter of Iranian and German. In the fresh months of the East East, young Sahra joined the SED (the ruling organization there). The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the communist strategy did not change the political interests of the young activist. In college, she studied Marx's works and became active in the activity of the recently established Social Democratic organization (PDS), which became the heiress of the Energy SED. Wagenknecht, like many residents of the erstwhile "socialist paradise" moved to the western part of the country and ran respective times for Bundestag from Dortmund, an industrial town in Rhine-North Westphalia.
Over the years, she struggled at the political levels of the German left, gradually increasing up to be 1 of her leaders. At the same time, her controversial views distanced her from political mainstream. At the end of last year, together with 9 another parliamentarians, she left the ranks of Die Linke and set up her own group, the BSW – Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (Soyusz Sahry Wagenknecht). How did this divided happen? As noted by the German political strategy expert, Dr hab. Agnieszka Bielawska – conflicted for many years with the authorities of the Left of Wagenknecht accused them of betraying ideals and focusing on little crucial issues for average people, while at the same time over paying attention to the demands of people from large cities in western Germany – well educated and earners, having extremist views on equality, climate protection or migration policy.
Nostalgia to the east
The views of Wagenknecht represent to a large degree what can be boldly called leftist populism, which is additionally characterized by a clearly conservative colour. BSW's leader wants to fight capitalism and take care of local workers, calls for the rescue of German manufacture from the “absurds” proposed in her opinion, by the current Green Party. possibly the most crucial feature of Wagenknecht's political programme, especially from the point of view of Poland, is the thought of reconnection with Russia. The BSW leader repeatedly called for a "room" (preferentially achieved at the expense of Ukraine), criticised sanctions and stressed the function of economical cooperation with Putin in building prosperity and ensuring the stableness of Germany. – The pro-Russian approach of the BSW has been highlighted, for example, in the main assumptions of the party's agenda for the elections to the European Parliament, in indicating as the causes of Russia's aggression against Ukraine "serious discrimination against Russian-speaking minorities before 2022", in demanding the detention of arms exports to Ukraine in order to "motivate Russia to start negotiations", or in making Ukraine's further financial support "from the condition of readiness to conduct peace negotiations", says Prof. Bielawska.
– Encourage immediate negotiations with Russia and limit aid Ukraine is well correlated with falling public support for the German military and financial commitment to conflict (as quoted by K. Frymark from the OSW, this is peculiarly the case in the east of the country where 47% of respondents considered military support to be besides large and 27% to be adequate; while 52% indicated that financial aid was besides large and 29% to be adequate). It should be noted that the party's agenda is hard to find consistency of political views. How, maliciously but aptly, commented in an interview with the weekly weekly “Der Spiegel” Gregor Gysi of the Left – “Sahra Wagenknecht wants to conduct migration policy like AfD, economical policy like Ludwig Erhard, social policy like left and east politics like Gerhard Schröder”. Paradoxically, this “mishma” of views may interest and tempt voters to vote for the BSW – says Prof. Bielawska.
The politician is besides a committed opponent of the policy of openness towards refugees and migrants. He blames them for impoverishing the German working class, and indicates that foreigners have repeatedly "absorbed the hospitality" of the Germans. Wagenknecht besides opposed mandatory vaccinations against COVID-19. Her views on society, global relations and economical issues mostly coincide with the demands of the far-right AfD party, which, according to the studies made available on POLITICO, has become the second political force in Germany in the last half of the year. As Prof. Bielawska points out – there were voices that Wagenknecht's only goal of creating a organization was to receive the AfD electorate. The October survey by the INSA Institute for "Bild am Sonntag" confirmed that this is likely – as many as 40% of alternate voters declared that they would vote for BSW. Wagenknecht herself admitted in the ZDF "Heute Journal" that the BSW wants to be an outraged politician of the German government, desperate and with no 1 to vote for, choosing AfD "not due to the fact that they are right-wing but due to the fact that they are angry", "a serious counter-proposation". fresh March polls indicate that if national elections were to be held soon, the Alliance could score 7% of the vote, while alternate 19%, or 8.6 p. p. more votes than it won in 2021.
Two-headed hydro for populism
BSW can number on the highest interest of possible voters especially in the areas of the erstwhile GDR. The same area, they evidence the most votes for the far-right AfD party. The populists win where a "normal grey citizen" has lost a sense of belonging and prospects for a better future. The areas of the erstwhile GDR are so an perfect place, inactive struggling with the effects of long decades of dictatorship, whose effects on the mentality, productivity and habits of people were incapable to eradicate years of costly transformation. erstwhile East Germany is inactive poorer than the West, plagued by unemployment and very severe demographic problems. The towns and villages there are ravaged. With the exception of Berlin, which represents a multicultural and creative planet of opportunity, there are fewer migrants there. any of the east lands, especially Saxony, have a xenophobic opinion. The city of Chemnitz is peculiarly infamous in this respect, in which there was a racist riot in 2018, in which neofascist organizations participated. The inhabitants of the erstwhile GDR feel abandoned and disappointed with the transformation, the word “Ostalgia” has gained popularity, describing the nostalgia behind the times of East Germany. According to a survey conducted by "Der Spiegel", as many as 57% of the residents of the erstwhile GDR, he believes the erstwhile communist strategy had more advantages than disadvantages. possibly these people miss not only the social safety offered by the state, they are besides tired of being second-class citizens in united Germany. Until recently, their main hope was the right-wing AfD. Now, they are addressed to Sahra Wagenknecht, promising to return to “the good old days”.
"European man's illness". This is how Europe's largest economy and the world's 3rd economical power have been written in fresh months, including The Economist. "CN", "The Guardian" and "Bloomberg". Is it truly that bad? – Fears of worsening the situation in the future, but besides dissatisfied with the migration policy of the governments of Angela Merkel and Olaf Scholz, the negative effects of the pandemic, whether imposing the effects of the war on Ukraine with inflationary, energy, climate and migration crises, dealing with the current or future government with the effects of crises linked, for example, to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic, and moving distant from extremist climate policy – these challenges, according to Prof. Bielawska, are crucial for German voters.
Germany is shaken by farmers' protests, and utmost populists, on the right and left sides of the political scene, gain in polls. They are supported by nearly 1/3 of the voters. As Prof. Bielawska emphasizes, not including utmost parties in the decision-making process, with their increasing support for gaining more and more seats in the Landtags and the Bundestag, it will be very hard to maintain. shortly Germany can become a completely different country, which will surely affect Poland.
Green Casper
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