Sahra Wagenknecht
Sahra Wagenknecht (born Sarah Wagenknecht; German: [ˌzaːʁa ˈvaːɡŋ̍ˌknɛçt]; 16 July 1969) is a German politician, economist, author, and publicist.[1] Since 2009 she has been a member of the Bundestag, where until 2023 she represented The Left. From 2015 to 2019, she served as that party's parliamentary co-chair. With a small team of allies, she left the party on 23 October 2023 to found her own party in 2024, Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, to contest elections onwards.[2]
Sahra Wagenknecht
Shervin Haghsheno
Position established
Position established
multi-member district
multi-member district
multi-member district
multi-member district
Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (2023–)
- The Left (2007–2023)
- Party of Democratic
Socialism (1989–2007) - Socialist Unity Party (1989)
-
Ralph-Thomas Niemeyer(m. 1997; div. 2013)
- Politician
- publicist
- author
Wagenknecht became a prominent member of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) from the early 1990s. After the foundation of The Left, she became a leading member of one of the party's most left-wing factions as leader of the Communist Platform. She has been a controversial figure throughout her career due to her hardline and populist stances, statements about East Germany, immigration and refugees (which moved away from traditional antiracism), and her political movement Aufstehen.[3][4][5] From 2020 onward Wagenknecht was less active in parliament, but often interviewed by German media. She is not a member of any parliamentary committee.[6]
Since 2021 she had openly considered forming her own party, due to growing and enduring conflicts within the Left Party and at the end of September 2023 she formed the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance political party, better known as BSW (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht), in the start of 2024.
Early life[edit]
Wagenknecht was born on 16 July 1969 in the East German city of Jena.[7] Her father is Iranian and her mother, who worked for a state-run art distributor, is German. Her father disappeared in Iran when she was a child. She was cared for primarily by her grandparents until 1976, when she and her mother moved to East Berlin. While in Berlin, she became a member of the Free German Youth (FDJ). She completed her Abitur exams in 1988 and joined the (then ruling) Socialist Unity Party (SED) in early 1989.[8][9]
From 1990, Wagenknecht studied philosophy and New German Literature as an undergraduate in Jena and Berlin, completing mandatory coursework, but did not write a thesis as she "could not find support for her research aims at the East Berlin Humboldt University". She then enrolled as a philosophy student at the University of Groningen, completing her studies and earning an MA in 1996 for a thesis on the young Karl Marx's interpretation of Hegel, supervised by Hans Heinz Holz and published as a book in 1997.[8][9] From 2005 until 2012 she completed a PhD dissertation at the chair of Microeconomics at TU Chemnitz, on "The Limits of Choice: Saving Decisions and Basic Needs in Developed Countries", awarded with the grade magna cum laude in the German system[10] and subsequently published by the Campus Verlag.[11]
Political views[edit]
Economic policy[edit]
Wagenknecht has argued that the Left Party must pursue radical and anti-capitalist goals, thereby remaining distinct from the more moderate Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Green Party. She has criticized the Left Party's participation in coalition governments, especially the Berlin state government, which has made cuts to social spending and privatized some services.[30]
On 14 February 2014, the German business and economics newspaper Handelsblatt put her on the cover of its weekend edition, wondering: "Are the Left the better at understanding economics?" (Sind die Linken die besseren Wirtschaftsversteher?) The ambiguous headline made it unclear whether the question referred to left-wingers in general or to Wagenknecht's party, The Left, in particular. The newspaper had earlier interviewed her about her ideas about liberalism and socialism.[31]
Ahead of the launch of BSW in October 2023, Tagesschau noted that Wagenknecht's modern positions emphasise "economic reason" and place economic fundamentals before social welfare, comparing her stance to that of the conservative CDU and FDP. In an interview, she described her goals as combating inflation, encouraging small and medium enterprise and domestic technology development, and establishing stable trade with a wide range of partners. She previously rejected accusations that she sought to establish control bodies for various industries, and cited as inspiration the ideas of economist Mariana Mazzucato, who is also considered a source for economics minister Robert Habeck, whom Wagenknecht frequently criticises.[32]
Foreign policy[edit]
In 2017, Wagenknecht called for the dissolution of NATO and for a new security agreement that links Germany and Russia.[33][34] Throughout her career, Wagenknecht has argued in favor of a closer relationship with Russia. In 1992, she had published an essay praising Stalinist Russia, a view she said in 2017 she no longer espoused.[34]
Wagenknecht has expressed strong support for the rise of left-wing leaders in Latin America, such as Hugo Chávez,[35] and for SYRIZA's 2015 electoral victory in Greece.[36] She serves as a spokesperson for the Venezuela Avanza solidarity network, and as an alternate on the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Mercosur.[12]
In 2010, she refused to join a standing ovation when former Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Laureate Shimon Peres gave a speech in the Bundestag on Holocaust Remembrance Day.[37][38][39][40][41]
Personal life[edit]
Wagenknecht married businessman Ralph-Thomas Niemeyer in May 1997.[58] On 12 November 2011, politician Oskar Lafontaine stated publicly that he and Wagenknecht had become "close friends".[59] At the time, Wagenknecht and Lafontaine had already separated from their respective spouses.[60][61] Wagenknecht married Lafontaine, 26 years her senior, on 22 December 2014.[62] She is an atheist.[63]
In 2023, the media estimated Wagenknecht's assets at three million euros.[64] In addition to her parliamentary remuneration, Sahra Wagenknecht earned around 750,000 euros in book and speaking fees in 2023.[1] She is one of the German politicians with the highest earnings in the Bundestag and a millionaire.[1][65]