Variations of Left-Wing Authoritarianism? The Local Foundation of the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW)

Research has emphasized the significance of left-wing authoritarian attitudes among substantial segments of the population in Western Europe, as well as the lack of political supply. In Germany, this dynamic changed with the electoral rise of Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) in 2024. Competing in three eastern German regional elections in September 2024, BSW not only managed to enter the regional legislatures in Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia, but even joined coalition government in two of these states. Before, the party already managed to celebrate considerable electoral success in June 2024, both in local elections and at the EP elections. Unsurprisingly, the new party has quickly attracted significant academic attention, with studies focusing on questions regarding (potential) BSW voters, the populist character of the new party and its positioning within the policy space. In our study, we focus on the latter by estimating BSW’s policy positions at the local level. This allows us to analyze the homogeneity within this new party, investigate the ideological coherence of real-existing left-wing authoritarianism, and the relationship between party supply and party demand. Precisely, we ask: What positions does the BSW take on the local level, how homogeneous are BSW policy positions at this level, and how congruent are BSW positions with the positions of its voters? Methodologically, we rely on data collected via the voting advice application VOTO during the municipal elections of June 2024. Our analysis draws on data from six Eastern German cities—Chemnitz, Dresden, Greifswald, Neubrandenburg, Potsdam, and Rostock. This selection was made not only for reasons of data availability, but also due to the fact that the BSW has been significantly more successful in elections in East Germany than in West Germany. In addition to party data, the VOTO team also collected user data that enable us not only to analyze the BSW’s responses to policy positions, but also those of its supporters.