Far-left rebel seeking peace with Putin shakes up German politics

A radical far-left politician who wants to make peace with Russia’s Vladimir Putin looks set to play a key role in regional elections in the former East Germany on Sunday.

Sahra Wagenknecht, 55, born in communist East Germany to an Iranian father and a German mother, defected from the far-left Die Linke party to form her own party, BSW, last year.

Wagenknecht has caused a stir in Germany by calling for negotiations with Putin, an end to government support for Ukraine and a radical crackdown on immigration.

But the BSW won an impressive 6.2 percent in June’s European Union elections and is expected to secure between 15 and 20 percent of the vote on Sunday in Saxony and Thuringia.

At a rally in his hometown of Jena, Wagenknecht spoke passionately of his upbringing in East Germany and the “fear that nuclear bombs could fall here in Europe.”

“Now the fear is back,” he said.

BSW wants to stop arms shipments to Ukraine and rejects plans to allow the US to periodically station long-range missiles in Germany.

Wagenknecht also called for tougher immigration laws, days after a Syrian man allegedly stabbed three people to death in the western city of Solingen.

BSW wants to “reverse” the current government’s immigration policy, he said.

“We can’t accommodate everyone in Germany.”

– Kingmaker? –

Opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s election show the far-right AfD is the largest party in Thuringia with around 30 percent, while in Saxony it is neck-and-neck with the conservative CDU for first place.

The AfD is also leading in polls in a third former East German state, Brandenburg, which will hold elections at the end of September.

However, the AfD is unlikely to come to power in any of these states even if it wins, as other parties have ruled out working with it to form a majority.

This could leave traditional parties struggling to form governing coalitions, and Wagenknecht’s party could end up being the one to decide the future.

Speaking to AFP, Wagenknecht said the upcoming elections would be “very important” for his party.

“If we enter each of these regional parliaments with a double-digit score, we will no longer be seen as just a media phenomenon, but as a party destined to change the politics of our country,” he said.

The “interesting question” about the regional elections will be “how strong Sahra Wagenknecht’s alliance will be in the end,” said Marianne Kneuer, professor of politics at the Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden).

“The BSW could become an important factor in the formation of a coalition in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony,” Kneuer said, predicting that the new party could also enter the national parliament for the first time next year.

– ‘Completely absurd’ –

Wagenknecht told AFP he accepted that “Putin had started a war contrary to international law” but said “the West bears its share of responsibility.”

“We could have avoided this conflict if we had taken Russia’s security concerns seriously,” he said.

She rejected accusations that some members of her party were spreading disinformation in favour of Russia, saying it was “shameful to accuse us of that”.

“We are accused of being the voice of Moscow or representing Russian positions because we are in favour of peace negotiations, which is completely absurd,” he said.

On immigration, Wagenknecht pointed to Denmark’s restrictive policy as an example that Germany could follow.

“They have drastically reduced their numbers, sending a message to the entire world that there is no hope of staying there if their asylum application is rejected,” he said.

Some have pointed out that BSW’s positions on Ukraine and immigration are broadly similar to those of the AfD, but Wagenknecht has ruled out any kind of collaboration with the far right.

“The AfD has a very radical right-wing faction, especially in the east,” he said.

His party cannot “form a coalition with people who have an ethnic nationalist ideology.”

At the demonstration in Jena, Margit Hoffmann, an 83-year-old retired nurse, said: “The most important thing for me is peace.”

“German public funds should be used for other things, not arms supplies,” Hoffmann said, leaning on his walker.

lep-clp-jsk/fec/db/rsc