The leader of the Left, Sahra Wagenknecht, will no longer participate in the “ARD-Wahlarena” on Monday after the Federal Constitutional Court rejected her complaint. The party leaders of CDU/CSU, AfD, SPD and the Greens will face the audience’s questions in the evening at 21:15 hours for around 120 minutes.
The Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR) had initially invited only parties with constant support of ten percent or more in the polls, according to the justification. In recent polls since the start of the year, the BSW’s ratings have fluctuated between five and eight percent among the public.
Wagenknecht had sought to participate in the format as the representative of her party, but was not invited by the broadcaster. She then attempted to sue the station, but the court rejected her claim. According to the T-online portal, the BSW initially fought against the exclusion of its leader in the courts of North Rhine-Westphalia, but failed to achieve a successful outcome. The party’s complaint was also rejected by the Federal Constitutional Court.
The Bild-Zeitung newspaper summarizes the situation, stating that the Federal Constitutional Court did not accept the complaint, as the party did not demonstrate how it was being harmed in its right to equal opportunities. The court’s decision is final and the 3rd Chamber of the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that the complaint was not accepted for decision.
In the court’s decision, it is stated that the BSW’s complaint was against the administrative court’s decisions on February 17, 2025, regarding the exclusion of the party’s leader from the “ARD-Wahlarena” broadcast by the Westdeutsche Rundfunk (WDR).
The complainant did not convincingly show that the challenged decisions violated the right to (graded) equal opportunities of the parties, as per Article 21, Paragraph 1 in conjunction with Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the German Constitution. The request for a preliminary injunction was rendered moot with the rejection of the complaint.