The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW): a new party launches in Germany

David F. Patton

Journal of Contemporary Central and Eastern Europe, 2025, vol. 33, issue 3, 645-662

Abstract: Founded in January 2024, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance: Reason and Justice (BSW) received 6.2 percent of the vote in June 2024 European Parliament elections, achieved double-digit finishes in three September 2024 regional elections, entered into regional government in Brandenburg and Thuringia and then in February 2025 fell around 9,500 votes short of joining the Bundestag on its first try. This article introduces the BSW’s program, its discourse, leadership and organization, its voters and party system placement. It examines whether the BSW, a party with social democratic roots, adheres to four social democratic profiles and finds that the “old left” and “left-nationalist” approaches most closely match, while a “centrist” approach does to a lesser degree. This eclecticism presents the BSW with both opportunities and challenges. Finally, the article situates the BSW in the context of other party models seen in German political development: the anti-rearmament protest party; the personal vehicle party; and the eastern protest party.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/25739638.2025.2534407

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