Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance
Updated: 5/24/2026, 7:33:04 PM Wikipedia source
The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice (German: Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit; BSW) is a political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a left-wing to far-left party with populist and nationalist tendencies. The BSW is skeptical of green politics, criticises support for both Ukraine in the Russo-Ukrainian War and Israel in the war in Gaza, and holds Eurosceptic and anti-American views on foreign policy. The party is considered "left-conservative" or "left-authoritarian", as it combines economically socialist values with cultural conservatism and social conservatism on social issues. The party originated as a split from the party The Left (Die Linke). In September 2023, Sahra Wagenknecht, Amira Mohamed Ali, Christian Leye, Lukas Schön, and several other long time Left party members announced their intention to form a new party. It was subsequently joined by others including former Left party leader Klaus Ernst, Fabio De Masi, and former mayor of Düsseldorf Thomas Geisel. The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance was officially founded in January 2024 with Wagenknecht and Mohamed Ali as its leaders. In February, they formed a group in the Bundestag. The BSW contested its first elections in May 2024. In June 2024, the party won 6 % of votes nationally in the European Parliament elections. In September, it won between 11% and 16% in three eastern state elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg. The BSW is part of the governing coalition in Thuringia (CDU-led Blackberry coalition with SPD) and until January 2026 it co-governed Brandenburg (SPD-led Red–purple coalition). A setback occurred in the 2025 German federal election: the party received 4 % of second votes, narrowly missing the 5% threshold required to be allocated seats in the Bundestag. Even worse were the BSW results in the three state elections held since the federal election: under 2% and no seats. For the three state elections in September 2026, BSW polls between 3% and 5%. Wagenknecht announced in November 2025 that she would resign as leader, designating MEP Fabio De Masi as her successor.
Infobox
Abbreviation
BSW
Chairperson
Amira Mohamed Ali Fabio De Masi
Founders
Sahra Wagenknecht Amira Mohamed Ali Klaus Ernst Christian Leye Lukas Schön Ali Al-Dailami
Founded
8 January 2024 (2024-01-08)
Split from
Die Linke
Headquarters
Wallstr. 61 10179 Berlin
Youth wing
Youth Alliance in the BSW
Membership (December 2025)
11,200
Ideology
Left-wing populism Left-wing nationalism Socialism Left-conservatism Cultural conservatism Euroscepticism
Political position
Left-wing to far-left
European affiliation
Unified European Left
European Parliament group
Non-Inscrits
Colours
Purple Orange
Bundestag
0 / 630
Bundesrat
5 / 69
State Parliaments
46 / 1,891
European Parliament
5 / 96
Heads of State Governments
0 / 16
Tables
· Intra-party structure
Leaders
Leaders
Position
Leaders
Member(s)
Sahra Wagenknecht
Amira Mohamed Ali
Deputy Leaders
Deputy Leaders
Position
Deputy Leaders
Member(s)
Shervin Haghsheno
Amid Rabieh
Friederike Benda
General-Secretary
General-Secretary
Position
General-Secretary
Member(s)
Christian Leye
Federal Treasurer
Federal Treasurer
Position
Federal Treasurer
Member(s)
Ralph Suikat
Federal Manager
Federal Manager
Position
Federal Manager
Member(s)
Lukas Schön
Executive members
Executive members
Position
Executive members
Member(s)
Fabio De Masi
John Lucas Dittrich
Thomas Geisel
Reinhard Kaiser
Hartmut Liebs
Michael Lüders
Żaklin Nastić
Stefan Roth
Alexander Relea-Linder
Steffen Schumann
Manfred Seel
Alexander Troll
Alexander Ulrich
Sabine Zimmermann
| Position | Member(s) |
| Leaders | Sahra Wagenknecht Amira Mohamed Ali |
| Deputy Leaders | Shervin Haghsheno Amid Rabieh Friederike Benda |
| General-Secretary | Christian Leye |
| Federal Treasurer | Ralph Suikat |
| Federal Manager | Lukas Schön |
| Executive members | Fabio De Masi John Lucas Dittrich Thomas Geisel Reinhard Kaiser Hartmut Liebs Michael Lüders Żaklin Nastić Stefan Roth Alexander Relea-Linder Steffen Schumann Manfred Seel Alexander Troll Alexander Ulrich Sabine Zimmermann |
· Intra-party structure › State branches
Baden-Württemberg
Landtag
Baden-Württemberg
Landtag
State
Baden-Württemberg
Landtag
Chairpersons
Jessica Tatti
Manfred Hentz
Founded
20 October 2024
Members
54
State Parliament
0 / 154
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
Bavaria
Landtag
Bavaria
Landtag
State
Bavaria
Landtag
Chairpersons
Klaus Ernst
Irmgard Freihoffer
Founded
16 November 2024
Members
80
State Parliament
0 / 203
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
Berlin
Abgeordnetenhaus
Berlin
Abgeordnetenhaus
State
Berlin
Abgeordnetenhaus
Chairpersons
Alexander King
Josephine Thyrêt
Founded
14 July 2024
Members
81
State Parliament
1 / 159
Status
Opposition
Brandenburg
Landtag
Brandenburg
Landtag
State
Brandenburg
Landtag
Chairpersons
Friederike Benda
Founded
25 May 2024
Members
40
State Parliament
9 / 88
Status
Opposition
Bremen
Bürgerschaft
Bremen
Bürgerschaft
State
Bremen
Bürgerschaft
Chairpersons
Christopher Schulze
Alper Iseri
Founded
14 September 2024
Members
24
State Parliament
0 / 87
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
Hesse
Landtag
Hesse
Landtag
State
Hesse
Landtag
Chairpersons
Ali Al-Dailami
Oliver Jeschonnek
Founded
12 October 2024
State Parliament
0 / 133
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
Lower Saxony
Landtag
Lower Saxony
Landtag
State
Lower Saxony
Landtag
Chairpersons
Thorsten Renken
Holger Onken
Founded
16 September 2024
Members
62
State Parliament
0 / 146
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
North Rhine-Westphalia
Landtag
North Rhine-Westphalia
Landtag
State
North Rhine-Westphalia
Landtag
Chairpersons
Amid Rabieh
Jan Ristau
Founded
7 September 2024
Members
113
State Parliament
0 / 195
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
Rhineland-Palatinate
Landtag
Rhineland-Palatinate
Landtag
State
Rhineland-Palatinate
Landtag
Chairpersons
Sina Listmann
Alexander Ulrich
Founded
22 September 2024
Members
55
State Parliament
1 / 101
Status
Opposition
Saarland
Landtag
Saarland
Landtag
State
Saarland
Landtag
Chairpersons
Astrid Schramm
Founded
22 March 2024
Members
24
State Parliament
0 / 51
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
Saxony
Landtag
Saxony
Landtag
State
Saxony
Landtag
Chairpersons
Sabine Zimmermann
Jörg Scheibe
Founded
24 February 2024
Members
60
State Parliament
15 / 120
Status
Opposition
Saxony-Anhalt
Landtag
Saxony-Anhalt
Landtag
State
Saxony-Anhalt
Landtag
Chairpersons
John Lucas Dittrich
Thomas Schulze
Founded
7 September 2024
Members
46
State Parliament
0 / 97
Status
Extra-parliamentary opposition
Thuringia
Landtag
Thuringia
Landtag
State
Thuringia
Landtag
Chairpersons
Katja Wolf
Gernot Süßmuth
Founded
15 March 2024
Members
80
State Parliament
15 / 88
Status
CDU–BSW–SPD coalition
| State | Chairpersons | Founded | Members | State Parliament | Status |
| Baden-Württemberg Landtag | Jessica Tatti Manfred Hentz | 20 October 2024 | 54 | 0 / 154 | Extra-parliamentary opposition |
| Bavaria Landtag | Klaus Ernst Irmgard Freihoffer | 16 November 2024 | 80 | 0 / 203 | Extra-parliamentary opposition |
| Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus | Alexander King Josephine Thyrêt | 14 July 2024 | 81 | 1 / 159 | Opposition |
| Brandenburg Landtag | Friederike Benda | 25 May 2024 | 40 | 9 / 88 | Opposition |
| Bremen Bürgerschaft | Christopher Schulze Alper Iseri | 14 September 2024 | 24 | 0 / 87 | Extra-parliamentary opposition |
| Hesse Landtag | Ali Al-Dailami Oliver Jeschonnek | 12 October 2024 | 0 / 133 | Extra-parliamentary opposition | |
| Lower Saxony Landtag | Thorsten Renken Holger Onken | 16 September 2024 | 62 | 0 / 146 | Extra-parliamentary opposition |
| North Rhine-Westphalia Landtag | Amid Rabieh Jan Ristau | 7 September 2024 | 113 | 0 / 195 | Extra-parliamentary opposition |
| Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag | Sina Listmann Alexander Ulrich | 22 September 2024 | 55 | 1 / 101 | Opposition |
| Saarland Landtag | Astrid Schramm | 22 March 2024 | 24 | 0 / 51 | Extra-parliamentary opposition |
| Saxony Landtag | Sabine Zimmermann Jörg Scheibe | 24 February 2024 | 60 | 15 / 120 | Opposition |
| Saxony-Anhalt Landtag | John Lucas Dittrich Thomas Schulze | 7 September 2024 | 46 | 0 / 97 | Extra-parliamentary opposition |
| Thuringia Landtag | Katja Wolf Gernot Süßmuth | 15 March 2024 | 80 | 15 / 88 | CDU–BSW–SPD coalition |
· Election results › Federal Parliament (<i>Bundestag</i>)
Votes
Votes
Election
Votes
Constituency
%
Constituency
Votes
Party list
%
2025
2025
Election
2025
Constituency
299,401
Constituency
0 ( )
Party list
2,472,947
Party list
4 ( )
Seats
0 / 630
+/–
New
Status
No seats
| Election | Constituency | Party list | Seats | +/– | Status | ||
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||||
| 2025 | 299,401 | 0 ( ) | 2,472,947 | 4 ( ) | 0 / 630 | New | No seats |
· Election results › European Parliament
2024
2024
Election
2024
List leader
Fabio De Masi
Votes
2,453,652
%
6 ( )
Seats
6 / 96
+/–
New
EP Group
NI
| Election | List leader | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
| 2024 | Fabio De Masi | 2,453,652 | 6 ( ) | 6 / 96 | New | NI |
· Election results › State parliaments (<i>Landtage</i>)
Saxony
Saxony
State parliament
Saxony
Election
2024
Votes
277,173
%
11 ( )
Seats
15 / 120
+/–
New
Status
Opposition
Thuringia
Thuringia
State parliament
Thuringia
Election
2024
Votes
190,448
%
15 ( )
Seats
15 / 88
+/–
New
Status
CDU–BSW–SPD
Brandenburg
Brandenburg
State parliament
Brandenburg
Election
2024
Votes
202,343
%
13 ( )
Seats
14 / 88
+/–
New
Status
SPD–BSW (2024–2026)
Opposition (2026–present)
Opposition (2026–present)
State parliament
Opposition (2026–present)
Hamburg
Hamburg
State parliament
Hamburg
Election
2025
Votes
76,922
%
1 ( )
Seats
0 / 121
+/–
New
Status
No seats
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
State parliament
Baden-Württemberg
Election
2026
Votes
76,314
%
1 ( )
Seats
0 / 157
+/–
New
Status
No seats
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
State parliament
Rhineland-Palatinate
Election
2026
Votes
37,770
%
1 ( )
Seats
0 / 105
+/–
New
Status
No seats
| State parliament | Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | Status |
| Saxony | 2024 | 277,173 | 11 ( ) | 15 / 120 | New | Opposition |
| Thuringia | 2024 | 190,448 | 15 ( ) | 15 / 88 | New | CDU–BSW–SPD |
| Brandenburg | 2024 | 202,343 | 13 ( ) | 14 / 88 | New | SPD–BSW (2024–2026) |
| Opposition (2026–present) | ||||||
| Hamburg | 2025 | 76,922 | 1 ( ) | 0 / 121 | New | No seats |
| Baden-Württemberg | 2026 | 76,314 | 1 ( ) | 0 / 157 | New | No seats |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 2026 | 37,770 | 1 ( ) | 0 / 105 | New | No seats |
References
- Tagesschauhttps://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/bsw-parteitag-magdeburg-wagenknecht-100.html
- The British Journal of Politics and International Relationshttps://doi.org/10.1177%2F13691481241284204
- Frankfurter Rundschauhttps://www.fr.de/politik/afd-friedensmanifest-ukraine-krieg-putin-verluste-bachmut-frontverlauf-wagneknecht-92227116.html
- Reutershttps://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-far-left-star-quits-post-communists-found-populist-party-2023-10-23/
- Zeitschrift für Parteienwissenschaftenhttps://mip.pruf.hhu.de/article/view/720/733
- Deutsche Wellehttps://www.dw.com/en/eu-elections-2024-bsw-wagenknecht-results/a-66470345
- Augsburger Allgemeinehttps://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de/politik/analyse-die-linke-liegt-am-boden-erster-schritt-fuer-wagenknecht-partei-id68124086.html
- Tagesschauhttps://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/wagenknecht-neue-partei-100.html
- Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburghttps://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2023/10/sahra-wagenknecht-neue-partei-gruendung-linke.html
- The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/17/sahra-wagenknecht-germany-elections-bsw-afd