Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Finally a New Player in the German Party Landscape?

The formation of new parties in Germany poses significant challenges. Since the Alternative for Germany was established in 2013, no party has achieved noteworthy election results at the federal level. All new formations have remained insignificant in the long term, even if initiated by well-known politicians. Currently, another new party has emerged: Bündnis [Alliance] Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW). This party, founded in early 2024, primarily comprises former members of the Left Party. The BSW merges left-wing ideas, such as taxing the rich, with conservative ones, such as restrictive immigration policy. This positions the party as a competitor for both left- and right-wing parties, detaching it from established party families. In the 2024 European elections, the party achieved over six percent and was the only newcomer to win several seats in the European Parliament. So, is this finally a successful new party? Based on the results of the European elections, BSW’s performance will be analysed through the lens of its political supply. First, categories for the success of new parties are compiled from studies on newcomer parties. Subsequently, the spe-cific strategies and internal logic of the BSW are discussed using these categories. Conclusions are drawn regarding BSW’s potential and its possible impact on the German party system. The study demonstrates that the party fills a gap in the party landscape and successfully establishes a party brand with its strong leadership but fails to properly institutionalise, representing a potential future risk. This analysis contributes significantly to understanding the new party BSW, the empirical appli-cation of theories on party success and recent changes in the German party system.