PARTEIATLAS

An independent field guide to Germany’s political parties

Federal politics2025 election edition

BSW: party profile

BSW

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit · economically left + socio-culturally conservative
Outside Bundestag

Our analysis · imported snapshot

A stronger welfare and interventionist state, cheaper energy and more redistribution — paired with stricter immigration, criticism of progressive identity politics and a foreign policy centred on ending arms deliveries and rapprochement/diplomacy with Russia.[27][28]
4.981%2025 vote
02025 seats won
<3%*not shown separately in Sep ARD poll
De Masi + Mohamed Alico-chairs
What it wants to change

Party says · 2025 manifesto

  • Economy: more state investment and industrial protection, action against dominant corporations, opposition to privatisation in health/housing and lower energy costs.[27]
  • Work & welfare: €15 minimum wage, stronger pensions and more redistribution, including higher taxation of large wealth.[27]
  • Housing: national rent cap and stronger non-profit/public housing.[27]
  • Climate & energy: climate policy subordinate to affordability/industrial competitiveness; opposes several current transition measures and favours access to cheap fossil imports, including Russian energy.[27]
  • Migration: sharply limit “uncontrolled migration”, stricter removals and no residence entitlement after arrival from safe third countries.[27]
  • Ukraine / defence: rejects weapons deliveries to Ukraine and Israel and opposes higher defence spending; prioritises negotiations and a European security architecture including Russia.[27]
  • Culture: self-identifies in 2026 as “social-conservative”: economically left, culturally more conservative, including on migration and the Self-Determination Act.[27]

BSW's unusual combination — left economics plus conservative cultural and Russia/peace positions — is its defining attempt to occupy space not cleanly described by a one-dimensional left–right scale.[29]

Following, strongholds & unusually fluid 2026 status

Its breakthrough base was eastern Germany: 2024 state-election successes in Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony and a strong European-election result. It then missed the Bundestag by just 0.019 percentage points in 2025.[1][30]

Government footprint is changing rapidly: its Brandenburg coalition with the SPD was ended in January 2026 and replaced by SPD–CDU in March. In Thuringia, it entered government with CDU and SPD, but a major wave of party exits — including Deputy Minister-President Katja Wolf — erupted on 4 September 2026, so the practical meaning of “BSW government participation” is currently unstable.[31][32]

Identity change: the party decided to retain the acronym BSW while renaming itself “Bündnis Soziale Gerechtigkeit und Wirtschaftliche Vernunft” from 1 October 2026.[40]

*ARD's Sep poll only displays parties ≥3%; “others” total 8%. Manifesto: [27] · profile: [28]