The Left rates the BSW as a failure and warns against its election
Quick Look
- The Left describes the BSW as a failure three years after Sahra Wagenknecht's split and warns against the BSW being elected in the upcoming state elections.
- In Thuringia, almost the entire BSW faction has left the party.
- Party leader Luigi Pantisano called the BSW a "zombie party" without substance and accused Wagenknecht of causing chaos and leaving scorched earth behind.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The BSW was founded in 2024 by Sahra Wagenknecht after her split from the Left. It initially achieved success in the European elections and the state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in 2024, but narrowly missed entering the Bundestag in the early elections in February 2025.
The Left sees the BSW as a failure three years after its spinoff by founder Sahra Wagenknecht and is now warning against electing the BSW in view of the upcoming state elections. In Thuringia, almost the entire BSW faction has now turned its back on the party.
"I would say it is a zombie party that actually no longer has any content, but is just a shell," said party leader Luigi Pantisano after a closed meeting of the Left parliamentary group in Dessau. You shouldn't give away your vote to them, he said.
Sahra Wagenknecht's project to found a new party failed. »She herself as a person, as a politician, has failed. She causes havoc wherever she touches things and leaves scorched earth behind.”
After successes in the European elections and the state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in 2024, the setback came in February 2025: The BSW narrowly missed entering the Bundestag in the early elections. In Thuringia it is currently part of the so-called blackberry coalition made up of the CDU, BSW and SPD.
The BSW is campaigning for votes in the East with a “freedom of expression festival”. A recurring theme there: a “smear campaign” because of its proximity to the AfD. But now there is a first proposal that is being presented to the right. Read more about the topic here.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The BSW will suffer significant losses of votes in the upcoming state elections in East Germany.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- How will the BSW reorganize itself structurally after many members leave?
- What specific political content will the BSW represent in the future?
- How will the blackberry coalition in Thuringia develop after the parliamentary group leaves?
- What impact does the Left's criticism have on voter trust in the BSW?
