Expulsion from the group is unlikely
When the party executive meets on Saturday from 10 a.m., it will be about what consequences it draws. In theory, the party leadership could ask the parliamentary group leadership to exclude Wagenknecht from the parliamentary group.
But the chances of success are slim. The faction leaders Dietmar Bartsch and Amira Mohamed Ali do not want to risk the faction breaking up and prefer to keep the Wagenknecht fans on board. Also to be re-elected in the board elections in September.
Excluding Wagenknecht from the party is not a real option either. You just have to look at the competition: the SPD had to fight for years until Thilo Sarrazin was excluded. The CDU is currently trying to get rid of former President for the Protection of the Constitution, Hans-Georg Maassen, so far without success.
Therefore, according to information from t-online, the top left will probably take a third path. In a decision, she wants to verbally distance herself from Wagenknecht and make it clear that the most prominent party representative no longer stands for the left.
It is unclear what Wagenknecht is doing. “The way doesn’t lead back, she won’t let herself be involved,” says a colleague in the parliamentary group with conviction. A scenario that is also repeatedly spread from Wagenknecht’s environment looks like this: If the left flies out of the Hessian state parliament in autumn and does not make it into parliament again in Bavaria (both are very likely according to the current status), Wagenknecht will get dirtier under Abingen Leave the parliamentary group and party and found your own party to stand in the 2024 European elections. Because there is no five percent hurdle in the election of the European Parliament.
On the other hand, founding a party is rarely successful and Wagenknecht has had rather bad experiences with her failed “Get Up” movement.
A second scenario is much less spectacular, but at least as likely: Wagenknecht stays, continues to use her party affiliation to make a name for herself in the opposition within the party, and retires from politics at the end of the legislative period to devote herself to being a publicist and speaker to dedicate. She has already announced that she will not run for the Bundestag again.
“It is infinitely difficult to found your own party”
A third scenario assumes that Wagenknecht leaves the left, but refrains from founding his own party and instead joins forces with another political force. Rumors are persistently circulating that she has explored options with ex-manager Jürgen Todenhöfer, who ran with his own party in the federal elections. Politically, there are definitely intersections: Both are against arms deliveries to Ukraine, and above all criticize the West.
But what’s the point? Phone call to Jürgen Todenhöfer. “Ms. Wagenknecht would be very welcome at several parties, including us,” he says on the phone. But there are no such talks. He assumes that – if – she will do it alone. But Todenhöfer also says: “It is infinitely difficult to found your own party.” His “Team Todenhöfer” achieved a voting potential of nine percent according to polls before the federal election. In the end, it received 0.5 percent of the vote.
