Member Development - Link gains members since the break with Wagenknecht
The Left has gained Thousands of Members since the split with Sahra Wagenknecht. After Wagenknecht announced the founding of her own party BSW at the end of October, the Left reportedly recorded 7640 new members. Considering the resignations, there is a net gain in the yearly comparison. The party had 50,251 members at the time of Wagenknecht's departure, and there are currently 52,127, which is a 3.7% increase. The ARD-"Tagesschau" reported on these numbers first.
Party chair Janine Wissler spoke of a "large influx of new members," which she found encouraging and motivating. "Now it's about activating these new members to renew the party and to get back into the Bundestag as a faction by 2025." The separation from Wagenknecht seems to have been the right moment for many to join the Left.
The Left has recently performed poorly in several elections. In the European election at the beginning of June, they received only 2.7% of the votes - roughly half as many as five years prior. In 2009, the Left still had around 78,000 members.
The surge in new members for The Left can be attributed in part to the establishment of Sahra Wagenknecht's new party, the BSW. The separation from Wagenknecht has sparked a "large influx of new members" to The Left, as stated by Party chair Janine Wissler. Berlin, being a significant political hub, has likely seen a substantial number of these new members joining The Left.
