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left to right: BSW founding members Fabio de Masi, Amira Mohamed Ali, Sahra Wagenknecht, Shervin Haghsheno and Thomas Geisel
Image: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW)

The BSW, founded in 2024 by former Left Party lawmaker Sahra Wagenknecht combines left-leaning economic, conservative migration and pro-Russian foreign policy initiatives. It is most successful in eastern Germany.

Skip next section Reports & Analysis

Reports & Analysis

Sahra Wagenknecht makes a speech at party conference

German election will be test for Sahra Wagenknecht and BSW

German election will be test for Sahra Wagenknecht and BSW

The former Left party Bundestag leader will need support in the western states where she has always performed weakest.
PoliticsJanuary 16, 2025
Sahra Wagenknecht clapping at a party conference in September

BSW faces hard fight in first Bundestag campaign

BSW faces hard fight in first Bundestag campaign

Polls suggest that the former Left leader's Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance won't make it into the Bundestag in February.
PoliticsJanuary 12, 2025
Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merzs in Berlin during a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the assassination attempt against Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in 1944

German election: Focus on immigration and the economy

German election: Focus on immigration and the economy

Immigration and the poor state of the economy are the top issues for German voters, the latest survey shows.
PoliticsJanuary 10, 2025
Olaf Scholz smiles and squints

Who are Germany's top candidates in the 2025 election?

Who are Germany's top candidates in the 2025 election?

Germany's political parties have selected their top candidates for the February 23 snap elections. Here is the lineup.
PoliticsNovember 25, 20247 images
left to right: Bodo Ramelow, Gregor Gysi and Dietmar Bartsch

Germany: How three old men hope to save the Left Party

Germany: How three old men hope to save the Left Party

The Left Party is banking on a trio of old men to get it reelected to parliament in February.
PoliticsNovember 21, 2024
Friedrich Merz, leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, gives a statement before a session of the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, in Berlin, Germany, November 8, 2024.

Germany's coalition collapse: Merz's CDU ready to take power

Germany's coalition collapse: Merz's CDU ready to take power

Riding high in the polls, the center-right Christian Democrats are eager to fight a federal election campaign.
PoliticsNovember 8, 2024
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Skip next section In the spotlight

In the spotlight

People stand with German flags in front of the Brandenburg Gate at night, in 1989

Defending the legacy of East Germany's peaceful revolution

Three decades after German reunification, the anti-immigrant AfD is on the rise. Former rights activists are outraged.
PoliticsOctober 3, 202402:49 min
Sahra Wagenknecht amid reporters

Germany's new BSW party shakes up political landscape

The BSW has only been around since early 2024 but won 16% of the vote in Thuringia's state election.
PoliticsSeptember 7, 202402:48 min
Chancellor Olaf Scholz stands among German citizens in Berlin

Disgruntled German voters want change

Support for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left government has reached a new low. But who stands to gain?
PoliticsSeptember 6, 2024
Sahra Wagenknecht

Germany: New BSW party in kingmaker position in east

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance wants to help govern Saxony and Thuringia, but some key demands have been rejected.
PoliticsSeptember 3, 2024
Green Party politicians looking miserable

Populist gains in state elections jolt German government

What will be the nationwide consequences from far-right gains in the Saxony and Thuringia state elections?
PoliticsSeptember 2, 2024
Sahra Wagenknecht giving a speech in June 2024

What is Germany's populist BSW party?

The brand new Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is gaining traction. Many of its positions overlap with the far right.
PoliticsSeptember 2, 2024
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