Germany’s populist BSW campaigns on rent freeze platform
Germany’s populist party Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW), founded by the former far-left leader of the same name, is campaigning in next year’s federal elections on a platform of social measures such as rent freezes and higher pensions.
The party, which combines traditional left-wing social policies with an anti-migrant stance and pro-Russia leanings, also demands “honest ceasefire efforts” on the war in Ukraine and an end to German arms deliveries, according to an eight-page election manifesto seen by dpa.
Germany is expected to go the polls on February 23, following the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left government coalition.
Parties have been outlining their election manifestos after the Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, withdrew its confidence in Scholz on Monday, in an orchestrated move towards early elections.
The BSW wants to freeze rent increases until 2030 in all regions “where the housing market has demonstrably outpaced incomes.”
Housing shortages are a pressing issue in many German cities, with few new homes being built. Rents rose by 4% in 2024, according to a recent analysis by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).
The BSW’s mini-manifesto also demands a minimum pension of €1,500 ($1,565) after 40 years of paying in to the system, as well as the abolition of extra contributions to statutory health insurance.
Other measures include the introduction of a citizens’ health insurance that everybody contributes to. At present, private and state healthcare exist side by side.
The BSW calls for a tax exemption on pensions up to €2,000 per month and a statutory minimum wage of €15.
The party also seeks the reversal of controversial laws aimed at switching the country to renewable sources of heating and banning combustion car engines.
It wants asylum seekers to be housed in safe countries outside the European Union while their claims are processed.
Wagenknecht’s party, founded in January, is opposed to further EU expansion, also ruling out membership for Ukraine.
The upstart party, which recently entered government in two eastern German states, is polling at 5%, the threshold to enter the Bundestag.
