Wagenknecht alliance receives donations from abroad
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance is set to become a party in January. Until then, it is busy collecting donations and receives a lot of money from abroad. The alliance does not disclose whether it also receives donations from Russia. However, the bank that receives the donations apparently maintains close contacts with Russia.
According to a report, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) of the former left-wing politician has also received numerous donations from abroad. Money has also flowed in from countries outside Europe, reports the Bild newspaper. When asked, the association explained: "Yes, donations have been received from other European countries and also from countries outside Europe."
The alliance would not say from which countries the donors transferred the money. As "Bild am Sonntag" writes, the association is also silent on the question of whether donations were received from Russia.
In any case, the bank that Wagenknecht chose for the donations, although it is located at the other end of Germany, apparently has a good relationship with Russia. According to the "Tagesspiegel", Volksbank Pirna counts Russian state media among its customers. CEO Hauke Haensel is enthusiastic about Russia and has a photo of the Kremlin on his Facebook account. Another photo shows Russian President Vladimir Putin and the then Chancellor Angela Merkel embracing. Haensel writes: "What belongs together is together!"
According to the alliance, the donations from abroad did not exceed the value of 1000 euros. According to its own statements, the association voluntarily follows the rules of the Political Parties Act. The report goes on to say that the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance raised a total of around 1.1 million euros in just under seven weeks. This included large donations of 50,000 and 20,000 euros.
Party funding has strict rules
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance only exists as an association and is not yet a party. "We will reach a seven-figure sum in the next few days," BSW treasurer Ralph Suikat told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Friday. Legal experts are critical of the approach, as the association could circumvent the legal regulations on party funding.
Legal scholar and party researcher Sophie Schönberger told the SZ on Friday that the rules on party funding are much stricter than the law on associations. The suspicion arises that the aim of the BSW association is to undermine party law.
For example, parties are generally not allowed to accept donations of more than 1000 euros from countries outside the EU. Suikat assured that the BSW was already being run as if it were subject to party law. "We will therefore transfer back any amounts over 1000 euros that were transferred from abroad without prior agreement," the BSW website states.
According to Wagenknecht, the founding of the party is planned for January. According to Der Spiegel, the founding party conference is to take place in Berlin on January 27. State associations are initially to be founded in Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony, where state elections are due next year. Wagenknecht also wants to take part in the European elections.
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The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, which aims to become a party in January, has received donations from various countries outside Europe, as reported by Bild newspaper. Controversially, the bank handling these donations has close ties with Russia, with its CEO even displaying photos of the Kremlin and Putin on his Facebook account.
Despite the alliance's denial of receiving donations from Russia, the political Left, spearheaded by Sahra Wagenknecht, faces criticism for potentially circumventing strict party funding rules by accepting donations exceeding 1000 euros from foreign countries.
Source: www.ntv.de
