Ramelow does not expect the Wagenknecht party to run for office
Thuringia's Minister President Bodo Ramelow says he does not expect the planned Wagenknecht party to run in the 2024 state elections. "In Thuringia, I don't expect them to submit a list at all," the Left Party politician told the German Press Agency in Augsburg on Saturday. "There is nothing to suggest that this can succeed."
Former Bundestag parliamentary group leader Sahra Wagenknecht left the Left Party in October along with nine other MPs and announced the founding of her own party in January. According to the party, it intends to stand in the European elections next year and is also aiming to do so in the state elections in the three eastern German states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg.
Ramelow said that Wagenknecht herself could not run in Thuringia because she does not live there. Moreover, she had only founded an association and not yet a party. He does not see Wagenknecht as a problem for the Left Party: "From a Thuringian perspective, I can't see any worries at the moment."
Instead, there are positive effects: "I can answer the question of how much our state association has changed in a positive way. We have a large wave of new members and almost no resignations, and certainly no significant number of defections."
Ramelow emphasized that his concern for the state elections was a different one, namely CDU politician Hans-Georg Maaßen: "He is currently in the process of building a popular front from the right, namely an interface between the CDU and AfD." In this way, the political right in southern Thuringia could regroup. "That worries me much more than Ms. Wagenknecht," said the left-wing politician.
Despite announcing her intention to run in the state elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, former Left Party politician Sahra Wagenknecht may find it challenging to do so as she does not currently reside in Thuringia. Upon leaving the Left Party, Wagenknecht along with nine other MPs formed their own party, but as of now, they have only established an association instead of a fully-fledged party in Thuringia, leaving their participation in the 2024 state elections uncertain.
Source: www.dpa.com
