Could Germany's new left-wing conservative party seduce AfD's voters in European elections?

euronews (in English)

A newcomer to German politics, BSW was formed in January of this year but has already won its first victory in the right-wing hotspot, Thuringia. Experts predict that the party could seduce far-right voters in upcoming European elections.

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00:00Left-wing politician Zahra Wagenknecht splintered off from the German Die Linke party last year

00:05to form her own party. The Zahra Wagenknecht alliance, Reason and Justice, BSW, vows to

00:12stop weapon deliveries into Ukraine and could promise to split the AfD vote, potentially

00:17winning seven seats in the EU election.

00:20We stand for economic reason, social justice, peace and freedom of expression. These are

00:25the four big themes that we have formulated for the Federal Republic in our manifesto

00:30and that is of course what we want in Europe.

00:33That is why we, as the Zahra Wagenknecht alliance, demand that the stock markets of politicians

00:38must become public, dear friends.

00:41Wagenknecht's strategy of promising higher taxes on large companies and wealthier people

00:46seems to be working as the newly formed party won its first victory in local Thuringia elections,

00:52the very first election it's run in.

01:16BSW could become the top left-wing force in the EU parliament seeking to form a new bloc,

01:39yet this could spell trouble for Die Linke due to BSW's strict immigration policies

01:44and could impede any merger efforts.

01:47The Zahra Wagenknecht party marries socialist economic policies with conservative attitudes

01:52towards immigration, but will this be enough to steer the voters away from populist authoritarian

01:57parties in the EU elections next month?

02:00Liv Stroud in Hamburg for Euronews.

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