One of Germany’s most prominent leftist politicians, Sahra Wagenknecht says she is forming her own political party.
The new party, reports say, could become another populist force scrambling German politics.
Christened after her, the Sahra Wagenknecht Coalition, or BSW in the German acronym, the new party is the first party in postwar Germany built entirely around one figurehead.
Wagenknecht is a frequent presence on television debate shows and on the floor of the parliament, where she is a member of the Left party.
She said that the new party would stand for “reason and fairness” and be a home for those who feel abandoned by mainstream politics.
A poll taken over the weekend by Bild found that 27 percent of voters would consider voting for Wagenknecht’s party, even if little concrete information about her actual platform was available.
For decades after World War II, Germany was governed by just two major parties. But Germany’s political landscape has been fracturing for a decade or more as traditional parties lose ground to populist elements.
