(Bloomberg) — A German Left party politician who has criticized military support for Ukraine announced the creation of a breakaway group that is set to shake up opposition to Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government.
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told reporters in Berlin on Monday that her far-left alliance will be ready in time to run in next June’s European parliamentary elections.
“The federal republic has the worst government in its history,” she said. “We have decided to found a new party because we’re convinced that it can’t continue like this. Otherwise we probably won’t recognize our country anymore in 10 years.”
Wagenknecht’s move could prove significant since she aims to woo voters away from the far-right Alternative for Germany, whose popularity is on the rise and which is leading in the polls in three eastern German states due to hold elections next fall.
She could also take voters from the Left and put its status as a parliamentary group at risk. The party, which traces its roots to East Germany’s communist party and has been riven by infighting, has dropped to 4% in some polls after losing its once-dominant position in eastern states to the anti-immigrant AfD. This would put it on course to miss the 5% threshold to enter parliament at the next national election due in two years.
A fifth of German voters would consider backing a new party under her leadership, according to a poll published last week.
The 54-year-old lawmaker, who is married to Left co-founder and former German Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine, has opposed delivering weapons to Ukraine to help it fight Russia, as well as criticizing economic sanctions against Moscow.
“We have cut ourselves off from cheap energy without having any reliable alternatives,” Wagenknecht said.
–With assistance from Zoe Schneeweiss.
(Updates with chart after fifth paragraph)
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