Anti-Establishment German Politician Touts Opposition to Ukraine War, Skepticism of Immigration

Sahra Wagenknecht is finding success in questioning German politics’ pieties and sacred cows.

A new piece on the website Naked Capitalism takes a deep dive into the modern state of European politics. In an article titled “Can a New German Party Steer the European Left in a More Effective Direction?” author Conor Gallagher examines the salience of the immigration issue in EU politics and the growing working-class rejection of the proxy war in Ukraine.

“Aside from Ukrainians, the war against Russia has arguably hurt working-class Germans more than anyone else,” writes Gallagher. "Despite that fact, German politician Sahra Wagenknecht is labeled... one with 'sympathies towards Russia’ for her opposition."

“There's no doubt that it's not Russia that has expanded to the west, it is NATO that has expanded to the east,” said Lazare. So, I think that the people using this to attack Wagenknecht are just insane.”

Wagenknecht is leader of a new party that rejects continued German support for the war in Ukraine. The leftwing politician has also faced criticism from establishment corners for her skepticism towards immigration.

“Wagenknecht’s ‘left-wing conservativism’ would mean a left less focused on identity issues while prioritizing working class economic issues,” explains Gallagher’s article. “While not opposing immigration on any racial grounds, she acknowledges voters’ concerns that too much immigration can be problematic: ‘​​people are experiencing a lack of housing, teachers are overworked, children can’t speak German and there are cultural conflicts.’”

“Wagenknecht gets a lot of criticism for her stance on immigration, but the fact is that’s what German voters are most concerned about,” Gallagher notes, citing polling on the issue.

“I think a lot of people are totally sick and tired of identity politics,” said Lazare. “I want to see class issues be the focus.”

“Obviously we have to protect the rights of racial minorities,” he clarified. “And we also have to recognize that there are a lot of people in the world who have been displaced by war, economics, and climate crises as well.” But Lazare predicted Wagenknecht’s platform would find support in Germany as voters suffering economic hardship often share her skepticism towards mass immigration.

Lazare predicted the attacks on Wagenknecht for her opposition to the war in Ukraine would backfire, redounding to the advantage of the right who have gained significant traction over the issue.

“The conservatives don't want this war in Ukraine,” he noted. “They sympathize ideologically with Putin. And they just don't like this foreign adventurism. And they know their economy is hurting.”

“Americans are tired of war,” he claimed, noting that opposition to funding for the conflict has increasingly gone global. “They've been fighting wars nonstop for a quarter of a century. Each new conflict seems to be more poorly thought out than the preceding one. And they all seem to go badly.”