Party head Wissler: Eerily overlooked the potential danger of BSW towards the left-leaning sector
Sahra Wagenknecht, ex-leader of the Left Party's faction, establishes BSW in autumn 2023, drawing her supporters away. Wissler, current Left Party leader, now says: That's something we could've seen coming.
Janine Wissler, current leader of the Left Party, looks back regrettably and wishes the split of Alliance of Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) had happened sooner. In a lengthy piece published in the party's online magazine, she expressed, "Given today's knowledge, I believe the separation should have been advocated for much earlier." She further added, "I wish I could claim ignorance, but alas, that's not the case."
Warnings about this eventual outcome had been raised "many years back," Wissler elaborated. "I wholeheartedly agreed with the substantive criticism against Wagenknecht and co., but I failed to recognize the threat to the party at the time," she admitted.
Upon her election as party chairwoman in 2021, she still believed "the Left could maintain unity and integrate many aspects into this diverse party." It was only later she realized "there's no common ground anymore."
"Party weakened from within for years"
Eventually, Wissler lamented, "our party was weakened from within and through media attacks for years." The aftermath of the split, she said, "has been as catastrophic as much as predicted."
Sahra Wagenknecht, former leader of the Left Party's faction, established BSW in autumn 2023 and departed from the Left Party along with her followers. This led to the dissolution of the Left Party faction in the Bundestag, as the remaining members of parliament no longer met the threshold for faction status. Thus, the Bundestag now houses two groups: The Left and BSW.
BSW managed to outperform the Left in the European election in June at a national level. Similarly, in the September polls for Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg state elections, BSW is performing better, even significantly. According to nationwide surveys, BSW typically manages eight to ten percent, while the Left stays below five percent.
Sahra Wagenknecht, previously a servant within the Left Party's faction, spearheaded the establishment of BSW in autumn 2023, drawing her loyal followers along. Janine Wissler, now acknowledging this move, admitted that she should have advocated for separation earlier, given the current circumstances.
