Rogue German left party says support for new EU Parliament group sealed

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, Germany’s youngest left party, probably has enough support to create and lead a new group in the European Parliament after the June elections, lead candidate Fabio De Masi confirmed on Wednesday (24 April), opening the door to “progressive forces” in a break with traditional left-wing dynamics.

A new political group gathering progressive forces from the Socialists, Greens, and the Left, is in the making, with Germany’s breakaway party Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) saying it has secured enough support among other parties to create a new group.

According to internal rules, a group in the European Parliament must be composed of at least 23 members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from at least 7 EU countries.

“We are in confidential talks and as of now we are able to form a new party group,“ De Masi told reporters at the launch of the party’s EU election poster campaign when asked about BSW’s future group affiliation.

The new group would be “with political forces that back the goal of peaceful conflict solution and focus on justice and other topics that we have presented today,“ he added.

However, Euractiv understands that no formal agreement has been signed yet, and any group formation will depend on the results of the June elections.

Speculation about the future alignment of the new party in the EU Parliament is rife as it could become a large delegation among progressive forces, winning up to seven seats according to Europe Elect’s latest projections for Euractiv.

“Talks and considerations are indeed taking place,” party leader Wagenknecht already said in February, as reported by Euractiv.

Headed by Wagenknecht, BSW had split from the main German left party Die Linke (the Left) in November over ideological differences.

Wagenknecht previously dubbed herself „left-conservative“.

Regarding the party’s future alignment, De Masi told Euractiv that BSW would not ally with any right-wing forces.

The as yet unnamed new collaborators are “relevant” in their member states, also “committed to diplomacy and conflict resolution” and “to the protection of employees and small and medium-sized enterprises”, he explained to Euractiv.

On Wednesday, De Masi also rejected the label left-wing, saying “the label ‘left’ is no longer associated with the focal points that we have presented”, namely representing the interest of “the majority of the population” against “the interests of a small minority of stock shareholders and plant owners.”

This shift opens the door to forces beyond the traditional left-wing parties from The Left group, such as unhappy delegations from the Greens and Socialists.

Italy’s Five Star Movement, which does not have a political affiliation, is aligned with BSW in its goal to halt arms deliveries to Ukraine to achieve ‘peace’ in the conflict. M5S is ready to negotiate with Socialists, Greens, and Left groups.

Tiziana Beghin, head of the 5 Star delegation in the Parliament, told Euractiv: “Our campaign will be focusing on peace in Ukraine, a fairer and more social Europe, and a green transition that will leave nobody behind – we will look for meeting points on these topics with others political forces in the next European Parliament”.

“Our goal is to join a progressive and pro-European group in the next term,” Beghin said.

It remains to be seen which delegations from The Left group will jump ship and join Wagenknecht’s new group.

A spokesperson of France’s far-left La France Insoumise in the Parliament told Euractiv that “no such discussion has taken place”.

Die Linke, contacted by Euractiv, did not provide comment by time of publication.

[Edited by Aurélie Pugnet/Zoran Radosavljevic]

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