Sahra Wagenknecht has described elements of the current German federal government as far-right. “For me, it is far-right when I want a society that relies on authoritarianism, on the suppression of freedom of speech, and on the dismantling of democracy,” the BSW founder told the “Machtmenschen” podcast from Focus. “If I define the term this way, we currently have far-right elements in the federal government.”
This commentary followed a question regarding whether Wagenknecht views the AfD as a far-right party. The former Left Party politician urged listeners to engage deeply with the AfD’s positions. While acknowledging that the party includes individuals extremely far to the right, she questioned modern political labels, stating, “What is right today, and what is left? We have a federal government that wants to make Germany the largest military power in Europe. In the past, people would have said something like this was right-wing-perhaps even far-right.”
Wagenknecht also raised concerns about the new powers granted to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), which she claims has transformed the agency into a “secret police.” Furthermore, she criticized the past exclusion of AfD candidates from elections, describing those actions as unconstitutional and undemocratic.
The podcast also featured discussion of AfD politician Björn Höcke, who had previously offered her the position of Minister-President in Thuringia. According to her, Höcke did not respond to her subsequent conversation invitation. Wagenknecht rejected the offer, stating she did not perceive him as “a particularly liberal person.” She asserted that the issue of authoritarianism must be addressed wherever it already exists and is tied to power.
When asked if she groups Höcke with Friedrich Merz, Wagenknecht replied that both promote authoritarianism, adding that the SPD and the Greens are also doing so. Finally, she again rejected the idea of helping Ulrich Siegmund secure the Minister-President position, claiming those words had been twisted. Regarding the media portraying the BSW as a “Shitstorm” and a vehicle for the AfD, she dismissed the characterization entirely.
