With only 2.1 million inhabitants, or 2.5% of the country's population, Thuringia is one of the least populated states in Germany. The elections that will take place there on Sunday 1er September, are nonetheless awaited with great excitement. First, because the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), led by the ultra-radical Björn Höcke, has a good chance of coming out on top, with the latest polls giving it 30% of the vote, 7 points more than in the 2019 regional elections. Second, because a brand new party, the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), founded only seven months ago, is close to 20% of voting intentions. A breakthrough which, if confirmed at the ballot box, risks having repercussions well beyond the borders of this small region of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).
Politically situating the BSW is no easy task. On economic and social issues, it hardly distinguishes itself from Die Linke (“the left”), which is not surprising given that Sahra Wagenknecht was for years one of the most influential figures in this party, of which she led the most orthodox wing, the Communist Platform, faithful to the legacy of Karl Marx.
In social matters, on the other hand, the BSW takes a more conservative position, with Sahra Wagenknecht herself having left Die Linke at the end of 2023 because she felt that her party had become the voice of a “Left lifestyle, committed to diversity and open borders, and against racism and climate change”. Causes certainly “honorable”, but who, according to her, “mainly of interest to educated people in large cities”at the risk of “create resentment among less privileged people, who feel that they are not being talked about the real problems of everyday life”.
In rural Thuringia, covered in vast forests and devoid of large metropolises, this discourse is powerful. Born herself in Jena, the economic capital of the region, Mme Wagenknecht has made it one of the strong points of her campaign. And, clearly, it pleases, judging by the applause she triggers when she makes fun of “trendy people in big cities who drink oat milk and macchiato, shop at organic stores and ride cargo bikes”as at the meeting she held on Altenburg Square on August 20, in front of nearly 400 people. Also present was her husband, Oskar Lafontaine, former chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SPD, 1995-1999), short-lived finance minister under Gerhard Schröder (1998-1999) and co-founder, in 2007, of Die Linke, from which he also ended up slamming the door.
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Source: Lemonde
