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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

Left leader calls BSW a “zombie party” after defections

From Der Spiegel · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Left party leader Luigi Pantisano described the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance as a “zombie party” without substantive content.
  • He said Wagenknecht’s project of forming a new party had failed and urged voters not to give it their support.
  • The BSW narrowly missed entering the Bundestag in February 2025 after winning seats in the 2024 European and eastern German state elections.

Luigi Pantisano has dismissed the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance as a "zombie party" after almost the entire BSW parliamentary group in Thuringia left the organization.

"I would say it is a zombie party that actually no longer has any content, but only a shell," Pantisano said after a closed meeting of the Left’s parliamentary group in Dessau. He urged voters not to waste their ballot on the BSW.

Pantisano said Wagenknecht’s attempt to create a new party had failed. He also attacked Wagenknecht personally, saying, "She herself, as a person and as a politician, has failed. Wherever she gets involved, she causes chaos and leaves scorched earth behind."

I would say it is a zombie party that actually no longer has any content, but only a shell.

· Luigi PantisanoThe Left leader characterized the BSW after defections from its Thuringia parliamentary group.

The BSW achieved electoral successes in the 2024 European Parliament election and in state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg. Its momentum faltered in February 2025, when it narrowly failed to enter the Bundestag in an early election.

In Thuringia, the BSW remains part of the so-called Blackberry coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats. The party was formed three years ago through a split from the Left, making its troubles a direct point of attack for its former political home.

She herself, as a person and as a politician, has failed. Wherever she gets involved, she causes chaos and leaves scorched earth behind.

· Luigi PantisanoPantisano criticized Sahra Wagenknecht and her political project.
About this summary

Originally published by Der Spiegel in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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