The co-leader of Germany’s far-left Die Linke (Left) party blamed the rising populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) party for the party’s poor performance in state elections in the German states of Thuringia and Saxony on Sunday.
Martin Schirdewan of Die Linke also accused the BSW founders of strengthening the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party and damaging left-wing politics in the country.
Sahra Wagenknecht, former leader of Die Linke and the party’s best-known politician, broke with Die Linke earlier this year and founded the BSW after repeatedly clashing with left-wing colleagues over her fierce anti-immigration views and right-wing positions on social issues such as gender.
“It is clear that the right-wing split of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance has hurt my party in particular, but also the social-left party,” Schirdewan said during an appearance on public broadcaster ZDF.
“You have to say that BSW is a gift for the AfD, because the social-left wing and especially my party are suffering from it, but the far right is actually strengthened by BSW and its positions,” he added.
Die Linke saw its results on Sunday plummet compared to the most recent elections in both states. In Thuringia, where Die Linke won in 2019 and currently leads a coalition government, expected results show support falling by half.
In Thuringia, an “essentially fascist party” – the AfD – has won a majority, Schirdewan said, something he called extremely worrying.
