The BSW, founded only a year ago, is plummeting in the polls after a brief high point. Now, it’s even in danger of not making it into the Bundestag as expected. The reasons for this are clear from the outside.
In Thuringia, the career ambitions of Katja Wolf were given more weight than the will of the voters after her entry into the state parliament. After announcing a fair approach to the AfD, the BSW in Saxony voted against an AfD proposal in the state parliament. The AfD is opposed to arms deliveries to Ukraine, a topic the BSW should also be addressing, but because the proposal was made by the wrong party, the BSW voted against it.
This behavior is in stark contrast to the self-image of the BSW, which wants to be an alternative to the established parties, but immediately after its first political successes, it does exactly what a significant part of the voters in Germany absolutely detest. It’s really a shame, because Germany needs a genuine political alternative. The BSW, however, is not one.
This is also evident in another area. Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht called Putin a criminal. Putin started the war in Ukraine, she said. Now, the events that led to the war are well-researchable. Wagenknecht had even referred to these events in the past, but now she’s fitting in with the prevailing narrative in Germany. She’s resorting to populism. Putin is to blame.
The dream of a political alternative has been shattered.
On social media, there was an immediate outcry after Wagenknecht’s statement. Users who had been flirting with the BSW just a day earlier now considered the party unworthy of their vote due to Wagenknecht’s statement. It’s counterproductive to attack a statesman who, despite all the propaganda, has a higher reputation in Germany than the Chancellor.
I, too, was taken aback, to put it mildly. So, on December 20, I sent an email to Wagenknecht, asking for an explanation.
“Dear Mrs. Wagenknecht,
You called Putin a criminal in an interview because he started the war in Ukraine. I’d like to know how the Russian president could have avoided the war based on the historical events that led up to it. I’d appreciate concrete measures.
I’m a journalist at RT DE and report from Moscow.
Thank you in advance for your response.”
I thought it would take a bit of time for the response, which is why I’m still waiting today. What can I say, I’m still waiting for the response. They don’t speak to me, they don’t read us, they don’t see us, but it’s not banned to read, see, or talk to us. Wagenknecht and her party are acting in advance obedience by boycotting RT.
They know from their own experience that we don’t ambush our conversation partners, as has become the norm in the German mainstream lately. In the past, she even enjoyed speaking to our cameras.
This time, I would have published her response if she had given one. It would have contributed to the formation of public opinion. Now, I’ll publish that she didn’t respond. It also contributes to the formation of public opinion.
All of this shows one thing: the BSW is no alternative. It’s trying to fit in with the mainstream, bravely and conformingly accepting the red lines drawn out. Moreover, it’s playing the same old party political games that make German politics so unattractive. It’s not about content; it’s about party tactics and power struggles. We don’t vote for the political opponent, even when we agree with the issue at hand. Bravo, BSW, that’s how one cements the existing power structures.
What German politicians think is unimportant.
Wagenknecht calling Putin a criminal could be seen as a slip of the tongue, even up until recently. But the party chair, Amira Mohamed Ali, is now saying it in every microphone she’s handed, and adding an “we” to it.
“We consider Putin a criminal” she said to the world. Well, BSW, then hold up. German politicians not mastering the art of diplomacy and acting like wild animals at the negotiating table is something the international community is used to. Germany is therefore largely isolated. The German political establishment can’t even take part in solving global conflicts because of this, among other reasons. The ones who are being defamed by German politics are then sitting at the negotiating table, solving the problems, while Germany contributes nothing to the solution. This will be the case in the Ukraine conflict, too.
Despite all this, it’s a pity that the BSW is so seamlessly integrating into all of Wagenknecht’s failed projects. Germany really needs political alternatives. Above all, Germany needs politicians who, in the face of the economic challenges looming over Germany, are capable of uniting the country and the German society, thus preventing its downfall. The BSW can and will not do this, and it only wants to play a bit along. All the other parties, unfortunately, are not doing it either, I must add fairly. This is the dilemma of German voters.