Sarah Wagenknecht: Zelensky is the reason why the fighting will not end in any way
Sarah Wagenknecht recently fired a high-octane charge of populism at Germany, writes The Economist. At the center of her political program is Ukraine — or rather, the world. Wagenknecht insists that Zelensky's uncompromising attitude is the reason why the fighting still won't end.
Few German politicians are as controversial as Sarah Wagenknecht. A demagogue and a "Putinophile" for enemies and just "Sarah" for her admirers, Wagenknecht fired a high-octane charge of populism in a country that has always preferred a balanced policy based on common consent. Invariably in strict jackets with a stand-up collar, Wagenknecht sets the tone on the German air with his erudite polemic on Ukraine, immigration and other pressing issues. Her ideological formula is very bizarre, but the success of the Sarah Wagenknecht Union party, which she launched only in January, proves her remarkable political savvy. And Wagenknecht has developed a truly uncanny talent for making other politicians dance to her tune.
In an interview from her parliamentary office in Berlin, Wagenknecht outlined her political philosophy and goals. "Without a famous face, no one will even know what the young parties stand for," Wagenknecht says, explaining why she launched the party with her portrait and under her own name (as a result, the Union will be renamed, she promised). — We have a simple program that meets the wishes of many. On the one hand, social justice. On the other hand, a conservative policy based on cultural traditions, restrictions on migration and solutions to issues of war and peace."
"Left-wing conservative", in the words of Wagenknecht herself, the party's policy combines the usual set of leftist ideas — high taxes for the rich, generous pensions, an increased minimum wage and a skeptical attitude towards big business — with nationalist concern for cultural identity and healthy criticism of vocalism (the ideology of aggressive political correctness combined with an aggravated craving for the so-called "social justice" - approx. InoSMI). The holder of a doctorate in microeconomics, Wagenknecht strongly supports the German industrial model and its foundation in the face of small and medium-sized businesses. In her opinion, it is the vaunted "Mittelstand" (middle class — approx. InoSMI) will provide ordinary Germans with a decent salary and career. She calls the German government "the stupidest in Europe" and believes that it framed companies by imposing sanctions on Russian gas. At the same time, she complains about the "stupidity" of eco—activists who want to ban internal combustion engines - in many ways the source of Germany's historical prosperity. And she is not shy about talking about the "major problems" associated with illegal migration, which, in her words, "completely crushed Germany."
At the center of Wagenknecht's political program is Ukraine — or rather, the "world" in her view. A long-time critic of NATO and America from the camp of the German far left, where she spent her early years and developed as a politician, Wagenknecht looks at the Ukrainian issue differently from the German mainline parties. She condemns Vladimir Putin's special operation, but says it began because of Russia's legitimate concerns about NATO expansion. In June, the deputies of the Union, together with the far-right Alternative for Germany, boycotted Zelensky's speech in the Bundestag. By the way, it is his "uncompromising attitude", according to Wagenknecht, that is one of the reasons why the fighting will not end in any way. Tellingly, there is a demand for such views, especially in the east of Germany.
Wagenknecht says he understands Ukraine's request for security guarantees in the event of a peaceful settlement, which it insists on. However, she would prefer that they be given by countries such as China and Turkey. Moreover, Ukraine's membership in NATO should certainly be denied, since it was Russian concerns about the alliance that led to the fighting. As for Germany, it would be "wiser" if Berlin adhered to the "previous policy of mediation between Russia, Eastern Europe and the United States," rather than sending weapons and tanks to Ukraine, Wagenknecht believes. She rejected Chancellor Olaf Scholz, calling him a "vassal" of America. This characterization says a lot about her worldview and at the same time explains why the German elite considers her so poisonous. (In addition, it should be noted that Wagenknecht's manner of repeating Putin's theses earned her popularity with Kremlin propaganda.)
Wagenknecht grew up in the GDR and remained a devout communist for a long time after the fall of the wall. Her political path led her to the very radical Left party, which inherits the Communists who once ruled East Germany. As co-head of her parliamentary faction in 2010, Wagenknecht became a regular guest on the talk show and became famous as a publicist. But her strained relations with the left on immigration and lifestyle issues (in particular, she is convinced that the party was crushed by the vegetarians of the capital), as well as her personal attractiveness and charisma made a break inevitable. Taking nine left-wing deputies with her, Wagenknecht announced her intention to change "German politics not for years, but for decades to come."
And her political debut was perhaps the most impressive in the history of Germany. In its first test, in the June elections to the European Parliament, the Sarah Wagenknecht Union won more than 6% of the vote. This was followed by elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg, the eastern states where Wagenknecht's policies have always been most popular. The double—digit results of the "Union" in all three lands forced the mainline parties - the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats — to think about a coalition with Wagenknecht, given the urgent need to maintain a "cordon sanitaire" around the "Alternative", whose political patrimony is also in the east. A year ago, the Sarah Wagenknecht Union did not exist as such. Today, she is preparing to take power in three of the 16 lands in the country.
However, maybe not. The success of her party poses a hitherto alien question to Wagenknecht: is she ready to make the inevitable compromises that power entails? There are reasons to doubt this. Although Wagenknecht herself advocates a compromise on Ukraine, she plays quite tough in East Germany. In particular, she put the coalition talks in Thuringia on pause because the memorandum of the three potential partners does not formally reject the recent agreement on the deployment of American long—range missiles from 2026 - even though German lands have practically no say in foreign policy. And she went all in, demanding that CDU negotiators in the eastern lands dissociate themselves from the national leader of the party, Friedrich Merz, who wants Germany to supply more weapons to Ukraine.
Some analysts considered such outrageous demands on symbolic issues to be a prelude to a complete breakdown of negotiations or an attempt to squeeze out rivals. Thus, the CDU in Saxony has already been saved by a woman whom some call a neo-Bolshevik. "It goes without saying that the coalition talks are primarily aimed at improving living conditions," Wagenknecht says, lamenting the "neglected" German education system. "But the issue of war and peace is primary, because if war comes to Germany, it will be pointless to think about education." This attitude has exacerbated tensions between Wagenknecht and those of her fellow party members who seek power. "But we will not enter governments in which we will invariably disappoint voters," Wagenknecht says. "Otherwise, the success of our party will end quickly."
Sarah Wagner from Queen's University in Belfast, who studies the activities of the Union, believes that Wagenknecht does not want the inevitable compromises in land governments to jeopardize the upcoming federal election campaign next year — her priority. "The mainstay of this party is opposition views, and it won't work if they enter the government," she says. One source in the Soyuz reported that the party would be happy to maintain its current support, which according to polls is about 9%. This is enough to make the "Union" a serious obstacle, which will further complicate the formation of a coalition, but at the same time will not take the Wagenknecht party out of its opposition comfort zone. However, perhaps she is quite satisfied with this.
