New German party: Sahra Wagenknecht presents her economic policy manifesto

New German party: Sahra Wagenknecht presents her economic policy manifesto

Since the beginning of this week it has been clear: Germany is getting a new party. The former left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht, 54, announced on Monday the founding of the “Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht”, or BSW for short, named after her. There are still many questions about the new party. A lot can still be said about their economic policy agenda.

On Monday, Wagenknecht presented a “founding manifesto” that describes the central points of their agenda on five A4 pages. Economic policy is the first point mentioned under the heading “Economic Reason”. The chapter begins with a kind of list of defects: the unpunctuality of the train, the long waiting times for a specialist appointment, a lack of apartments and daycare places are mentioned, as are “dilapidated roads and bridges, dead spots and slow internet”. Overall, it is said, the public infrastructure is “in an embarrassing state for a leading industrial country”. The education system is also described as dysfunctional. And further: “Since the Russian sanctions and alleged climate policy suddenly made energy more expensive, our country is threatened with the loss of important industries and hundreds of thousands of well-paid jobs.”

Classic left-wing demands are also found in the manifesto. The BSW would like to relieve taxes on middle and small incomes, increase the minimum wage to 14 euros per hour and ask rich people and large corporations to pay more. However, the party's stance on climate policy remains vague. There are also considerations about the role of the state in the economy. The BSW wants to limit market power and unbundle dominant companies. Where monopolies are unavoidable, the tasks should be transferred to non-profit providers.

Economist Hubertus Bardt from the German Economic Institute in Cologne sees some critical points in Wagenknecht's agenda. On the one hand, the criticism of the Russia sanctions is exaggerated, as they hardly play a role in the overall economic situation in Germany. Bardt also emphasizes that there are no European gas sanctions against Russia, but that Russia has stopped gas deliveries to Europe. Furthermore, Bardt recognizes anti-American overtones in the criticism of overseas corporations. He sees a tendency towards conspiracy theories and is skeptical about the alliance's vague stance on climate policy.

In summary, Bardt views the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance's economic policy agenda as rather thin and warns of higher costs and declining service due to excessive government interference in key economic sectors.

According to a report by Süddeutsche.de