Sahra Wagenknecht

Wagenknecht was born on 16 July 1969 in the East German city of Jena.{{cite web|url= https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/28250/SAHRA_WAGENKNECHT/history/6 |title=Sahra WAGENKNECHT |website=europarl.europa.eu |access-date=4 February 2025 |archive-date=7 February 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207162356/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/28250/SAHRA_WAGENKNECHT/history/6}}{{cite web |author=Boris Herrmann |url=https://www.sueddeutsche.de/meinung/geschichtsbild-die-wagenknechts-1.6294990 |title=Die Wagenknechts |date=2023-10-27 |language=de |access-date=2025-02-18 |archive-date=19 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240819142333/https://www.sueddeutsche.de/meinung/geschichtsbild-die-wagenknechts-1.6294990 |url-status=live}} Her father, who is Iranian, came to West Berlin to study;{{cite web | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-superstar-sahra-wagenknecht-far-left-far-right/ | title=Is Germany's rising superstar so far left she's far right? | date=26 August 2024 |author= James Angelos |website=Politico Europe |quote= She was born in 1969 in East Germany to an Iranian father who had come to West Berlin to study and a German mother who worked as an art dealer and lived on the other side of the Berlin Wall, making it impossible for the couple to maintain regular contact. |archive-date=26 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826032223/https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-superstar-sahra-wagenknecht-far-left-far-right/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web | url=https://www.fr.de/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-bsw-partei-politik-alter-ausbildung-herkunft-kindheit-privates-92728833.html | title=Von der Linken zur Parteigründerin: Wagenknechts politische Evolution |work=Frankfurter Rundschau |language=de | date=7 February 2024 |archive-date=4 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104161006/https://www.fr.de/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-bsw-partei-politik-alter-ausbildung-herkunft-kindheit-privates-92728833.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web | url=https://www.vice.com/de/article/politiker-im-test-waren-wir-freunde-gewesen-als-sie-jung-waren/ |work=Vice News Germany | title=Politiker im Test: Wären wir Freunde, wären wir im gleichen Alter? | date=18 August 2017 |language=de |archive-date=26 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240926044629/https://www.vice.com/de/article/politiker-im-test-waren-wir-freunde-gewesen-als-sie-jung-waren/ |url-status=live}}{{cite web | url=https://www.euronews.com/2024/09/02/germany-state-elections-who-is-sahra-wagenknecht-the-woman-cannibalising-germanys-left | title=German state elections: Who is Sahra Wagenknecht, the woman cannibalising the country's left? | date=2 September 2024 |work=Euronews |archive-date=2 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902144903/https://www.euronews.com/2024/09/02/germany-state-elections-who-is-sahra-wagenknecht-the-woman-cannibalising-germanys-left |url-status=live}} her mother, who worked for a state-run art distributor, is German. Her father disappeared in Iran when she was a child. She was cared for primarily by her grandparents until 1976, when she and her mother moved to East Berlin. While in Berlin, she became a member of the Free German Youth (FDJ).{{cite web |author=Interview von Günter Gaus mit Sahra Wagenknecht |url=https://www.rbb-online.de/zurperson/interview_archiv/wagenknecht_sahra.html |title=Zur Person: Günter Gaus im Gespräch mit Sahra Wagenknecht |work=rbb-online.de |date=2004-02-11 |access-date=2024-04-02 |archive-date=5 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405125122/https://www.rbb-online.de/zurperson/interview_archiv/wagenknecht_sahra.html |url-status=live |language=de}} She completed her Abitur exams in 1988 and joined the (then ruling) Socialist Unity Party (SED) in early 1989."[https://www.rbb-online.de/zurperson/interview_archiv/wagenknecht_sahra.html Günter Gaus im Gespräch mit Sahra Wagenknecht] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122043410/https://www.rbb-online.de/zurperson/interview_archiv/wagenknecht_sahra.html |date=22 January 2021 }}" from Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb), 11 February 2004."[http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/topic/38.lebenslauf.html Kurzbiographie] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009223818/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/topic/38.lebenslauf.html |date=9 October 2007 }}" from [http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/ www.sahra-wagenknecht.de] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719081901/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/ |date=19 July 2011 }} (29 June 2007).{{cite web |author=Marc Brost, Stephan Lebert |title="Ich sehe mich nicht im Krieg mit den Männern" |work=Die Zeit |date=2011-07-21 |url=https://www.zeit.de/2011/30/Wagenknecht-Interview |access-date=2024-08-23 |archive-date=12 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912144122/https://www.zeit.de/2011/30/Wagenknecht-Interview |url-status=live |language=de}}

From 1990, Wagenknecht studied philosophy and modern German literature as an undergraduate in Jena and Berlin, completing the mandatory coursework, but did not write a thesis as she "could not find support for her research aims at the East Berlin Humboldt University". She then enrolled as a philosophy student at the University of Groningen, completing her studies and earning an MA in 1996 for a thesis on the young Karl Marx's interpretation of Hegel, supervised by Hans Heinz Holz and published as a book in 1997. From 2005 until 2012 she completed a PhD dissertation in microeconomics at TU Chemnitz, on "The Limits of Choice: Saving Decisions and Basic Needs in Developed Countries", awarded with the grade magna cum laude in the German system{{cite web|url=https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/forschung/promotionen.php?jahr=2012&fakult=Wirtschaftswissenschaften|title=Promotionen – Publikationen – Forschung – TU Chemnitz|first=Prorektor für Forschung und wissenschaftlichen|last=Nachwuchs|website=tu-chemnitz.de|access-date=28 July 2015|archive-date=16 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116123242/https://www.tu-chemnitz.de/forschung/promotionen.php?jahr=2012&fakult=Wirtschaftswissenschaften|url-status=live}} and subsequently published by the Campus Verlag.Sahra Wagenknecht: The Limits of Choice: Saving Decisions and Basic Needs in Developed Countries. Campus Verlag, Oktober 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-593-39916-4}}.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the transformation of the SED into the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), Wagenknecht was elected to the new party's National Committee in 1991. She also joined the PDS's Communist Platform, a Marxist-Leninist faction.

In the 1998 German federal election, Wagenknecht ran as the PDS candidate in a district of Dortmund, garnering 3.25% of the vote. Following the 2004 European elections, she was elected as a PDS representative to the European Parliament. Among her duties in the parliament were serving on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Delegation, as well as the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly.{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public/geoSearch/view.do?country=DE&partNumber=2&language=EN&id=28250 |title=Your MEPs : Introduction: Sahra WAGENKNECHT– European Parliament profile |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231031200050/https://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public/geoSearch/view.do?country=DE&partNumber=2&language=EN&id=28250 |archive-date=2023-10-31 |url-status=live}}

Following the merger of the PDS and the WASG that formed the Left Party (Die Linke), Wagenknecht considered campaigning for the position of party vice-chair. However, party leaders such as Lothar Bisky and Gregor Gysi objected to the idea primarily because of her perceived sympathies for the former German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany). Following the controversy, she announced that she would not run for the post. Wagenknecht successfully contested a seat in the 2009 federal election in North Rhine-Westphalia.DIE LINKE.NRW (Party website), "{{cite web |url=http://www.dielinke-nrw.de/bundestagswahl.html |title=DIE LINKE. NRW : Bundestagswahl |access-date=2009-04-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090407032736/http://www.dielinke-nrw.de/bundestagswahl.html |archive-date=7 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}," (21 April 2009). She became the Left Party's spokesperson for economic politics in the Bundestag. On {{nowrap|15 May 2010}}, she was at last elected {{nowrap|vice president}} of the Left Party with 75.3% of the vote.

Early in 2012, the German press reported that Wagenknecht was one of 27 Left Party Bundestag members whose writings and speeches were being collected and analyzed by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/geheimdienst-verfassungsschutz-beobachtet-27-linken-abgeordnete-a-810651.html|title=Geheimdienst: Verfassungsschutz beobachtet 27 Linken-Abgeordnete: Von Sahra Wagenknecht bis Gesine Lötzsch: Mehr als ein Drittel der Linken-Abgeordneten wird nach SPIEGEL-Informationen vom Verfassungsschutz beobachtet, damit gibt es noch mehr Betroffene als bekannt. Die Bespitzelung kostet pro Jahr rund 400.000 Euro, Gregor Gysi nennt das Vorgehen "ballaballa".|author=jok|publisher=Der Spiegel (online)|date=22 January 2012|access-date=3 March 2015|archive-date=29 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329102028/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/geheimdienst-verfassungsschutz-beobachtet-27-linken-abgeordnete-a-810651.html|url-status=live}}

She has been one of the main driving forces in the formation of Aufstehen, a left-wing political movement established in 2018, which exists outside of traditional political party structures and has been compared to the French movement La France Insoumise. In March 2019, Wagenknecht announced her withdrawal from her leadership role within Aufstehen, citing personal workload pressures and insisting that after a successful start-up phase, for which political experience was necessary, the time had come for the movement's own grass roots to assume control. She complained that the involvement of political parties at its heart had "walled in" the movement. She would nonetheless continue to make public appearances on its behalf.{{cite web|title=Wagenknecht zieht sich aus Spitze bei "Aufstehen" zurück|work=Vor knapp einem halben Jahr stellte Sahra Wagenknecht ihre "Aufstehen"-Bewegung vor. Zuletzt wurde es ruhig um das linke Projekt – für Schlagzeilen sorgt nun ausgerechnet die Initiatorin selbst.|date=9 March 2019|url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/sahra-wagenknecht-will-sich-aus-aufstehen-spitze-zurueckziehen-a-1257069.html|publisher=Der Spiegel (online)|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=10 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190310012649/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/sahra-wagenknecht-will-sich-aus-aufstehen-spitze-zurueckziehen-a-1257069.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Sahra Wagenknecht verlässt die Führung von "Aufstehen"|work=Die linke Sammlungsbewegung verliert ihren prominenten Kopf: Sahra Wagenknecht will sich zurückziehen, fühlt sich aber weiter "Aufstehen" verbunden.|publisher=Tagesspiegel, Berlin|date=9 March 2019|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/linke-bewegung-sahra-wagenknecht-verlaesst-die-fuehrung-von-aufstehen/24084672.html|access-date=10 March 2019|archive-date=23 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323101323/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/linke-bewegung-sahra-wagenknecht-verlaesst-die-fuehrung-von-aufstehen/24084672.html|url-status=live}}

Wagenknecht was elected co-leader of the Left's Bundestag group in 2015 alongside Dietmar Bartsch succeeding long-time leader Gregor Gysi. Wagenknecht won 78.4% of votes cast.{{cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2015-10/die-linke-bundestag-fraktionsspitze-sahra-wagenknecht|title=The Left: Wagenknecht and Bartsch elected parliamentary group chairs|date=13 October 2015|language=de|website=Die Zeit|access-date=5 December 2021|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205092902/https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2015-10/die-linke-bundestag-fraktionsspitze-sahra-wagenknecht|url-status=live}} As the Left was at the time the largest opposition party in the Bundestag, she became a prominent leader of the opposition for the remainder of the parliamentary term. Bartsch and Wagenknecht were the Left's lead candidates for the 2017 federal election.{{cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-opposition-left-party-unveils-2017-candidates/a-36648071|title=Germany's opposition Left party unveils 2017 candidates|date=5 December 2016|language=en|website=Deutsche Welle|access-date=5 December 2021|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205092902/https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-opposition-left-party-unveils-2017-candidates/a-36648071|url-status=live}}

The biography Sahra Wagenknecht. Die Biografie by {{ill|Christian Schneider (cultural studies scholar)|lt=Christian Schneider|de|Christian Schneider (Kulturwissenschaftler)}} was published in 2019 and focuses on Wagenknecht as a person, including her family background and interest in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.{{cite news |last=Puschner |first=Sebastian |year=2019 |url=https://www.freitag.de/autoren/sebastianpuschner/wie-einsam-sie-war |title="Wie einsam sie war" |newspaper=Der Freitag |issue=42 |language=de |access-date=17 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226173605/https://www.freitag.de/autoren/sebastianpuschner/wie-einsam-sie-war |archive-date=2024-02-26 |url-status=live}} In November 2019, she announced her resignation as parliamentary leader, citing burnout.{{Cite web|title=Sahra Wagenknecht über ihren Burnout: "Da ging nichts mehr"|url=https://www.brigitte.de/aktuell/gesellschaft/sahra-wagenknecht-ueber-burnout-und-auszeit-11622842.html|access-date=2021-10-03|website=brigitte.de|date=August 2019 |language=de|archive-date=22 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922223124/https://www.brigitte.de/aktuell/gesellschaft/sahra-wagenknecht-ueber-burnout-und-auszeit-11622842.html|url-status=live}} Her activities from 2017 to 2019, culminating with her resignation, are covered in the 2020 documentary film {{ill|Wagenknecht (film)|lt=Wagenknecht|de|Wagenknecht (Film)}}, directed by Sandra Kaudelka.{{cite news |last=Dell |first=Matthias |date=12 March 2020 |url=https://www.zeit.de/kultur/film/2020-03/wagenknecht-linke-dokumentation-filmrezension |title=Auf der Suche nach Einigkeit |newspaper=Die Zeit |language=de |access-date=5 November 2023 |archive-date=5 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105165201/https://www.zeit.de/kultur/film/2020-03/wagenknecht-linke-dokumentation-filmrezension |url-status=live }}

File:26.06.2019 Für eine soziale Politik Leipzig (48137570083).jpg

Wagenknecht was again nominated as the lead candidate on the party's North Rhine-Westphalia list in the 2021 federal election. She was re-elected, but described the results as a "bitter defeat" for her party.{{Citation|title=Einschätzung zu den ersten #btw21 Wahlergebnissen| date=26 September 2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvcdzf5jjd4 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211213/zvcdzf5jjd4 |archive-date=2021-12-13 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2021-10-03}}{{cbignore}}

{{See also|Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht}}

Due to the growing conflicts within Die Linke, Wagenknecht considered forming her own party. There was speculation since 2021 that her faction and other like-minded groups within Die Linke, such as the Socialist Left or the Karl Liebknecht circles, would break off to form a separate party.{{cite web|url=https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/sahra-wagenknecht-eigene-partei-linke-100.html|title=In den Startlöchern für die One-Woman-Show|date=18 July 2023|language=de|website=Deutschlandfunk|access-date=5 August 2023|archive-date=25 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025095116/https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/sahra-wagenknecht-eigene-partei-linke-100.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-left-party-declares-figurehead-persona-non-grata-sahra-wagenknecht-plunges-crisis/|title=German Left Party plunges into crisis, declares party icon persona non grata|date=12 June 2023|language=en|website=Politico|access-date=5 August 2023|archive-date=5 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230805062952/https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-left-party-declares-figurehead-persona-non-grata-sahra-wagenknecht-plunges-crisis/|url-status=live}} Policy-wise, the new party was expected to follow a left-nationalist strategy.

At the end of September 2023, people from Wagenknecht's circle founded the association "BSW – For Reason and Justice e. V.". According to the news magazine Der Spiegel, the abbreviation in the club's name stands for "Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht" ("Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance"). The association is intended to serve as a precursor to a future party.{{Cite web |last=Rundfunk |first=Saarländischer |date=2023-10-18 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht gründet eigene Partei |url=https://www.sr.de/sr/home/nachrichten/politik_wirtschaft/parteigruendung_sahra_wagenknecht_100.html |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=SR.de |language=de |archive-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020123728/https://www.sr.de/sr/home/nachrichten/politik_wirtschaft/parteigruendung_sahra_wagenknecht_100.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2023-10-13 |title=Sahra Wagenknechts Umfeld drohen Konsequenzen wegen Parteigründungsplänen |language=de |work=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/sahra-wagenknecht-umfeld-drohen-konsequenzen-wegen-parteigruendungsplaenen-a-91710b4d-4991-42be-8afb-7724d97f9c4e |access-date=2023-10-18 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=19 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019002023/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/sahra-wagenknecht-umfeld-drohen-konsequenzen-wegen-parteigruendungsplaenen-a-91710b4d-4991-42be-8afb-7724d97f9c4e |url-status=live }}

In mid-October, over 50 members of Die Linke submitted an application for Wagenknecht's exclusion from the party. The initiators said they wanted to prevent Sahra Wagenknecht from building a new party with the resources of Die Linke. "This is no longer acceptable," said {{Ill|Sofia Leonidakis|lt=Sofia Leonidakis|de}}, leader of Die Linke in the Bremen parliament.{{Cite web |last=Budweg |first=Alexander |title=Linken-Mitglieder wollen Wagenknecht ausschließen |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/linke-parteiausschluss-wagenknecht-100.html |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=tagesschau.de |language=de |archive-date=20 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020152316/https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/linke-parteiausschluss-wagenknecht-100.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/wagenknecht-stellt-buendnis-vor-100.html |title=Wagenknecht tritt aus Linke aus – Ende des Fraktionsstatus droht |work=tagesschau.de |date=2023-10-23 |access-date=2023-10-23 |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023090615/https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/wagenknecht-stellt-buendnis-vor-100.html |url-status=live |language=de}} The ongoing speculation about the founding of a new party and the resulting breakup of Die Linke also put a strain on the election campaigns in Bavaria and Hesse. Die Linke failed to enter both state parliaments.{{cite web |title=Spaltung der Linkspartei vollzogen: Wagenknecht und Co. treten aus |work=Die Tageszeitung |date=2023-10-23 |ISSN=0931-9085 |url=https://taz.de/Spaltung-der-Linkspartei-vollzogen/!5968643/ |access-date=2023-10-23 |language=de |archive-date=23 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023140355/https://taz.de/Spaltung-der-Linkspartei-vollzogen/!5968643/ |url-status=live}}

In January 2024, her new party was officially launched.{{Cite news |date=2024-01-08 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht: German politician launches 'left-wing conservative' party |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67914273 |access-date=2024-01-08 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240108145007/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67914273 |archive-date=2024-01-08 |url-status=live}}

Wagenknecht was her party's candidate for chancellor in the 2025 federal election, running as the first candidate on the state list of the North Rhine-Westphalian BSW.{{cite web |url=https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/deutschland/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-bsw-kanzlerkandidatin-100.html |title=Sahra Wagenknecht wird Kanzlerkandidatin des BSW |work=mdr.de |date=2024-12-16 |language=de |accessdate=2024-12-19 |archive-date=16 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241216214436/https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/deutschland/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-bsw-kanzlerkandidatin-100.html |url-status=live}} Unlike the top candidates of all other parties represented in the Bundestag, however, she did not stand as a candidate in any constituency.{{cite web|work=RND Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland |date=19 January 2025 |url=https://www.rnd.de/politik/bundestagswahl-2025-sahra-wagenknecht-das-ist-die-kanzlerkandidatin-des-bsw-TUAIO7D3S5HRTK3I3J3LOLUSTQ.html |title=Steckbriefe zur Bundestagswahl - Sahra Wagenknecht: Alle Infos zur Kanzlerkandidatin des BSW |archive-date=19 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119092159/https://www.rnd.de/politik/bundestagswahl-2025-sahra-wagenknecht-das-ist-die-kanzlerkandidatin-des-bsw-TUAIO7D3S5HRTK3I3J3LOLUSTQ.html |url-status=live |language=de}} Since the BSW will not be represented in the Bundestag, receiving 4.97% in the preliminary results and 4.98% in the final results, Sahra Wagenknecht will not remain a member of the Bundestag.{{Cite web |author= |url=https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/deutschland/politik/bundestagswahl-bsw-stimmen-wagenknecht-anfechtung-staatsrechtler-100.html |title=BSW fehlen 13.435 Stimmen für den Bundestag – Zweifel an Wahlergebnis |work=mdr.de |date=2025-02-24 |access-date=2025-02-25 |language=de |archive-date=24 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250224175329/https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/deutschland/politik/bundestagswahl-bsw-stimmen-wagenknecht-anfechtung-staatsrechtler-100.html |url-status=live}}

In the 1990s, according to her companion Gregor Gysi, Wagenknecht supported communist theses such as those of Walter Ulbricht, before she "discovered" Ludwig Erhard's positions for herself, according to Gysi.{{Cite news |last1=Fiedler |first1=Maria |last2=Lehmann |first2=Timo |date=2023-10-25 |title=(S+) Gregor Gysi über Sahra Wagenknecht: »Völlig daneben« |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/linken-veteran-gregor-gysi-ueber-seine-widersacherin-sahra-wagenknecht-voellig-daneben-a-771a1e3a-3398-4c47-abe3-8a3241e52cea |access-date=2024-11-13 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=25 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231025142833/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/linken-veteran-gregor-gysi-ueber-seine-widersacherin-sahra-wagenknecht-voellig-daneben-a-771a1e3a-3398-4c47-abe3-8a3241e52cea |url-status=live}} Wagenknecht herself described her idea of a new economic policy in her 2013 book Freedom instead of Capitalism as "creative socialism". By this she meant a "market economy without capitalism" and a "socialism without a planned economy" and distanced herself from communism.{{citation|author=Sahra Wagenknecht |date=2013 |isbn=978-3-423-34783-9 |location=München |pages=395 |publisher=Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag |title=Freiheit statt Kapitalismus}}{{cite web|access-date=2021-12-26 |date=2011-05-12 |title=Von Umsturzgeschrei keine Spur |url=https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/von-umsturzgeschrei-keine-spur-100.html |website=Deutschlandfunk |language=de |archive-date=26 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226215955/https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/von-umsturzgeschrei-keine-spur-100.html |url-status=live}} In fact, Wagenknecht referred to the pioneers of ordoliberalism, whose ideas are otherwise more commonly represented in the Free Democratic Party (FDP). In 2013, during the financial and the European debt crisis, Wagenknecht proposed a debt cut and certain subsequent measures to end the euro crisis, while at the same time generating economic growth and regulating the financial markets. Business journalist Christian Rickens called this "arch-liberal at its core".{{cite web|access-date=2013-12-08 |author=Christian Rickens |date=2012-07-25 |title=Neue Ideen zur Euro-Rettung: Sahra Wagenknechts erzliberales Manifest |url=https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/sahra-wagenknechts-konzept-zur-euro-rettung-a-845862.html |website=Spiegel Online |language=de |archive-date=26 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726083820/https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/sahra-wagenknechts-konzept-zur-euro-rettung-a-845862.html |url-status=live}} In 2013, Der Spiegel editor Hauke Janssen saw clear differences between the arguments of Wagenknecht and the ordoliberal theory, for example on the topics of wage increases and unemployment; in his view, Wagenknecht "wrongly" appropriated Ludwig Erhard.{{citation|access-date=2021-12-26 |author=Hauke Janssen |date=2013-01-30 |issn=2195-1349 |periodical=Der Spiegel |title=Fakten-Check: Sahra Wagenknecht, Ludwig Erhard und die Linkspartei |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/fakten-check-sahra-wagenknecht-ludwig-erhard-und-die-linkspartei-a-880253.html |language=de |archive-date=31 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131100649/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/fakten-check-sahra-wagenknecht-ludwig-erhard-und-die-linkspartei-a-880253.html |url-status=live}}

Ahead of the launch of BSW in October 2023, Tagesschau noted that Wagenknecht's positions at that time emphasised "economic reason" and placed economic fundamentals before social welfare, comparing her stance to that of the conservative CDU and FDP. In an interview, she described her goals as combating inflation, encouraging small and medium enterprise and domestic technology development, and establishing stable trade with a wide range of partners. She previously rejected accusations that she sought to establish control bodies for various industries and cited as inspiration the ideas of economist Mariana Mazzucato, who is also considered a source for economics minister Robert Habeck, whom Wagenknecht frequently criticises.{{cite web |date=20 October 2023 |title=Where Sahra Wagenknecht wants to go |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/wagenknecht-neue-partei-100.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020203017/https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/wagenknecht-neue-partei-100.html |archive-date=20 October 2023 |access-date=20 October 2023 |website=Tagesschau |language=de}}

Wagenknecht rejects a return to the socialism of East Germany. In her view, public services such as housing, education, health, water and energy supplies, banks and key industries should be provided by the public sector in order to overcome "the dictates of returns and share prices".{{cite web |author=Franz Solms-Laubach |date=2009-04-29 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht will die DDR nicht mehr zurück |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/article3645625/Sahra-Wagenknecht-will-die-DDR-nicht-mehr-zurueck.html |access-date=2013-12-08 |website=Welt Online |language=de |archive-date=30 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430102720/https://www.welt.de/politik/article3645625/Sahra-Wagenknecht-will-die-DDR-nicht-mehr-zurueck.html |url-status=live}} On the basis of the Basic Law of Germany (Article 14 Paragraphs 2 and 3 and Article 15), Wagenknecht also sees possibilities for a different economic order beyond capitalism.{{cite web |author=Miriam Hollstein |date=2008-05-17 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht gibt auf |url=https://www.welt.de/welt_print/article2003982/Sahra-Wagenknecht-gibt-auf.html |access-date=2013-12-08 |website=Die Welt |language=de |archive-date=30 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130430190219/https://www.welt.de/welt_print/article2003982/Sahra-Wagenknecht-gibt-auf.html |url-status=live}}

On 14 February 2014, the German business and economics newspaper Handelsblatt put her on the cover of its weekend edition, wondering: "Are the Left better at understanding economics?" (Sind die Linken die besseren Wirtschaftsversteher?) The ambiguous headline made it unclear whether the question referred to left-wingers in general or to Wagenknecht's party, The Left, in particular. The newspaper had earlier interviewed her about her ideas about liberalism and socialism.Handelsblatt 14 February 2014, pp. 50–59

For a long time, until 2010, Wagenknecht belonged to the Anti-Capitalist Left and the Communist Platform within the Left Party, where she was also a member of the Federal Coordination Council.{{Cite web |date=2013-07-27 |title=Sahra’s Mitgliedschaft ruht |url=http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/serveDocument.php?id=101&file=1/7/8bf.pdf |access-date=2024-11-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727114851/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/serveDocument.php?id=101&file=1/7/8bf.pdf |archive-date=27 July 2013 |language=de }} In 2000, Wagenknecht called for an overcoming of capitalist production relations.{{citation |author=Marc Kayser |title=Ich habe einen Traum |date=2000-10-05 |periodical=Die Zeit |issue=41/2000 |url=http://www.zeit.de/2000/41/200041_traum_wagenknech.xml |access-date=2013-12-08 |language=de |archive-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517083145/http://www.zeit.de/2000/41/200041_traum_wagenknech.xml |url-status=live}} Wagenknecht showed understanding for the economic policies of the states of Cuba and Venezuela. In a 2006 press release, she stated that "the continued existence of the Cuban system represents a glimmer of hope for those in the so-called Third World who are the losers in a market- and profit-oriented globalized world."{{cite web|access-date=2013-12-08 |author=Sahra Wagenknecht |date=2006-02-02 |title=EU-Politik zu Kuba ist einseitig und ungerecht |type=Erklärung zur Abstimmung über den Gemeinsamen Entschließungsantrag der Fraktionen von PPE, PSE, ALDE und UEN zur Haltung der EU gegenüber der kubanischen Regierung |url=http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/85.erklaerung_zur_abstimmung_ueber_den_gemeinsamen_entschliessungsantrag_der_fraktionen_von_ppe_pse_alde_und_uen_zur_haltung_der_eu_gegenueber_der_kubanischen_regierung.html |website=sahra-wagenknecht.de |language=de |archive-date=9 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009224232/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/85.erklaerung_zur_abstimmung_ueber_den_gemeinsamen_entschliessungsantrag_der_fraktionen_von_ppe_pse_alde_und_uen_zur_haltung_der_eu_gegenueber_der_kubanischen_regierung.html}} In 2008, she also defended the decision by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to nationalize the oil production facilities of the US company ExxonMobil.{{cite web|access-date=2013-12-08 |author=Sahra Wagenknecht |date=2008-02-13 |title=Kein Öl für Exxon! Venezuela hat ein Recht auf Vergesellschaftung der Ölindustrie |url=http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/259.kein_oel_fuer_exxon_venezuela_hat_ein_recht_auf_vergesellschaftung_der_oelindustrie.html |website=sahra-wagenknecht.de |language=de |archive-date=3 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103035543/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/259.kein_oel_fuer_exxon_venezuela_hat_ein_recht_auf_vergesellschaftung_der_oelindustrie.html}} In 2007 Wagenknecht has argued that the Left Party must pursue radical and anti-capitalist goals, thereby remaining distinct from the more moderate Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Green Party. She has criticized the Left Party's participation in coalition governments, especially the Berlin state government, which has made cuts to social spending and privatized some services."[http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/39.nicht_mitkungeln_sondern_kaempfen.html Nicht mitkungeln, sondern kämpfen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011062551/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/39.nicht_mitkungeln_sondern_kaempfen.html|date=11 October 2007}}", statement co-signed by Wagenknecht (28 April 2007).

In a 2024 interview, Wagenknecht argued that she and the BSW are the “legitimate heirs of both ‘domesticated capitalism’ of post-war conservatism and the social-democratic progressivism, domestic as well as foreign, of the era of Brandt, Kreisky and Palme,” and also stated that while she finds Marx’s views on capitalist crises and property relations very useful, she doesn’t believe in central planning or total nationalizations; preferring third options instead.{{cite web|url=https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii146/articles/sahra-wagenknecht-condition-of-germany |title=Sahra Wagenknecht Condition of Germany Interview by Thomas Meaney & Joshua Rahtz |archive-date=4 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240504064549/https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii146/articles/sahra-wagenknecht-condition-of-germany |url-status=live}}

In 2017, Wagenknecht called for the dissolution of NATO and for a new security agreement that links Germany and Russia.{{Cite web |last=Welle (www.dw.com) |first=Deutsche |title=German opposition leader calls for security union with Russia, dissolution of NATO |date=17 January 2017 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-opposition-leader-calls-for-security-union-with-russia-dissolution-of-nato/a-37154925 |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=DW.COM |language=en-GB |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301142939/https://www.dw.com/en/german-opposition-leader-calls-for-security-union-with-russia-dissolution-of-nato/a-37154925 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Chazan |first=Guy |date=2017-02-24 |title=German political shift favors hard-left icon Sahra Wagenknecht |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6dee5340-f9ab-11e6-9516-2d969e0d3b65 |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301142939/https://www.ft.com/content/6dee5340-f9ab-11e6-9516-2d969e0d3b65 |url-status=live }} Throughout her career, Wagenknecht has argued in favor of a closer relationship with Russia. In 1992, she had published an essay praising Stalin-era Russia, a view she said in 2017 she no longer espoused.

Wagenknecht has expressed strong support for the rise of left-wing leaders in Latin America, such as Hugo Chávez,"[http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/21.kuba_und_lateinamerika_agieren_selbstbewusster_als_frueher.html Kuba und Lateinamerika agieren selbstbewusster als früher] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009224342/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/21.kuba_und_lateinamerika_agieren_selbstbewusster_als_frueher.html |date=9 October 2007 }}" Linkszeitung (10 December 2005). and for SYRIZA's 2015 electoral victory in Greece.{{cite web

|url=http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2015/wagenknecht280115.html |title=A Crack in Merkel's Power over Europe |author=Sahra Wagenknecht (translated by Victor Grossman) |publisher=Monthly Review |date=15 January 2015 |access-date=2 February 2015 |archive-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204015859/http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2015/wagenknecht280115.html |url-status=live

}} She serves as a spokesperson for the Venezuela Avanza solidarity network, and was an alternate on the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Mercosur.

In 2010, she refused to join a standing ovation when former Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Laureate Shimon Peres gave a speech in the Bundestag on Holocaust Remembrance Day.{{Cite web |title=Wiesenthal Center accuses German Left of 'fulfilling tradition of hate' |url=https://www.jpost.com/international/german-left-party-mps-fulfill-long-tradition-of-hatred-of-jews-564623 |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=13 August 2019 |language=en-US |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301131404/https://www.jpost.com/international/german-left-party-mps-fulfill-long-tradition-of-hatred-of-jews-564623 |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |last=Fischer |first=Fabian |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1045336096 |title=Die konstruierte Gefahr Feindbilder im politischen Extremismus |date=2018 |others=Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft |isbn=978-3-8487-5149-5 |edition=1. Auflage |location=Baden-Baden |pages=127 |oclc=1045336096 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027001928/https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1045336096 |archive-date=2023-10-27 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last=Jasmin Kalarickal |date=9 April 2021 |title=Sie bekommt Zuspruch von rechts |language= |pages= |periodical=taz.de |publisher= |format= |url=https://taz.de/Linken-Politiker-ueber-Sahra-Wagenknecht/!5764666/ |url-status=live |access-date= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820000924/https://taz.de/Linken-Politiker-ueber-Sahra-Wagenknecht/!5764666/ |archive-date=20 August 2021 |quote= }}{{cite web |last=Michael Wuliger |date=6 August 2018 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht steht auf |url=https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-steht-auf/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820000935/https://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-steht-auf/ |archive-date=20 August 2021 |access-date= |publisher= |pages= |language= |format= |quote= |periodical=Jüdische Allgemeine }}{{Cite web |title=German Left Party leader calls MP a 'sneaky Jew' |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/german-left-party-leader-calls-mp-a-sneaky-jew-507623 |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=The Jerusalem Post {{!}} JPost.com |date=17 October 2017 |language=en-US |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301140020/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/german-left-party-leader-calls-mp-a-sneaky-jew-507623 |url-status=live }}

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Wagenknecht was a prominent defender of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, arguing that while the United States were trying to "conjure up" an invasion of Ukraine, "Russia has in fact no interest in marching into Ukraine".{{Cite web |date=2022-02-24 |title=How Germany helped blaze Putin's path into Ukraine |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/how-germany-helped-blaze-vladimir-putin-path-into-ukraine/ |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=POLITICO |language=en-US |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301142939/https://www.politico.eu/article/how-germany-helped-blaze-vladimir-putin-path-into-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2022-02-28 |title=Germany's 'Putin-caressers' start coming to terms with their naivety |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/28/germanys-putin-caressers-start-coming-to-terms-with-their-naivety |access-date=2022-03-01 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406204239/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/28/germanys-putin-caressers-start-coming-to-terms-with-their-naivety |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Hoyer |first=Katja |date=2022-02-22 |title=Deluded Berlin has finally woken up to the truth about Vladimir Putin |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/02/22/deluded-berlin-has-finally-woken-truth-putin/ |access-date=2022-03-01 |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301142939/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2022/02/22/deluded-berlin-has-finally-woken-truth-putin/ |url-status=live }} After Russia launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Wagenknecht said that her judgment had been wrong.{{Cite news |date=2022-02-27 |title=Ukraine conflict: Putin's war prompts dramatic German U-turn |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60549916 |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228113936/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60549916 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=WELT |date=2022-02-28 |title=Ukraine-Invasion: Ist Putin ein Kriegsverbrecher, Frau Wagenknecht? – "Ja, wobei …" |language=de |work=DIE WELT |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/video237190675/Ukraine-Invasion-Ist-Putin-ein-Kriegsverbrecher-Frau-Wagenknecht-Ja-wobei.html |access-date=2022-03-01 |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301142939/https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/video237190675/Ukraine-Invasion-Ist-Putin-ein-Kriegsverbrecher-Frau-Wagenknecht-Ja-wobei.html |url-status=live }}

Wagenknecht opposed sanctions against Russia over the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, and, in a speech in September 2022, accused the German government of "launching an unprecedented economic war against our most important energy supplier". Before the war, over half of Germany's gas was supplied by Russia. In May, The Left had voted in favor of economic sanctions against Russia. Her speech was applauded by The Left party leadership and by the far-right Alternative for Germany. Her speech prompted the resignation of two high-profile party members.{{Cite web |date=2022-09-19 |title=Germany's Die Linke on verge of split over sanctions on Russia |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/19/germanys-die-linke-on-verge-of-split-over-sanctions-on-russia |access-date=2022-10-15 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=14 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014065251/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/19/germanys-die-linke-on-verge-of-split-over-sanctions-on-russia |url-status=live }}

On 10 February 2023, Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer started collecting signatures for their Manifest für Frieden ({{literal translation|Manifesto for peace}}) on Change.org. It called for negotiations with Russia and a halt to arms deliveries to Ukraine. By the end of the month it had received 700,000 signatures. A rally for peace with Wagenknecht and Schwarzer on 25 February was also attended by far-right groups,{{Cite news |date=2023-02-25 |title=Thousands in Berlin attend 'naive' Ukraine peace rally |language=en |work=DW |url=https://www.dw.com/en/thousands-in-berlin-attend-naive-ukraine-peace-rally/a-64818249 |access-date=2023-02-28 |archive-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228234231/https://www.dw.com/en/thousands-in-berlin-attend-naive-ukraine-peace-rally/a-64818249 |url-status=live }} and was said to have appealed to the Querfront.{{Cite news |date=2023-02-27 |title=Germany: Left Party, Wagenknecht clash after 'peace' rally |language=en |work=DW |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-left-party-wagenknecht-clash-after-peace-rally/a-64826659 |access-date=2023-02-28 |archive-date=28 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230228223222/https://www.dw.com/en/germany-left-party-wagenknecht-clash-after-peace-rally/a-64826659 |url-status=live }}

On the death of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny in February 2024, Wagenknecht commented: "The early death of Alexei Navalny is shocking. Even if it is still unclear exactly what Putin's critic died of. One thing is certain: Navalny was a victim of the autocratic system in today's Russia."{{Cite news |title="Putin ist eine Bestie": Die Reaktionen zum mutmaßlichen Tod von Alexej Nawalny |url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/internationales/selenskyj-zum-tod-von-alexej-nawalny-kreml-kritiker-sei-von-putin-getotet-worden--die-reaktionen-11223241.html |access-date=2024-12-19 |work=Der Tagesspiegel Online |language=de |issn=1865-2263 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216133952/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/internationales/selenskyj-zum-tod-von-alexej-nawalny-kreml-kritiker-sei-von-putin-getotet-worden--die-reaktionen-11223241.html |archive-date=16 February 2024 |url-status=live}}

In the spring of 2024, in two interviews, she linked the peace negotiations she had called for between Ukraine and Russia with the proposal that the population in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories should vote on their nationality in a referendum supervised by the United Nations. She also outlined what a peace agreement could look like, and did not rule out security guarantees or a military obligation to provide Ukraine with military assistance if Russia were to break a peace agreement. She could imagine China, Turkey or France as guarantor powers. She also called for Gerhard Schröder's "line to the Russian president" to be used for negotiations.{{Cite web |date=2024-02-24 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht zu AfD: Alice Weidel vertritt keine rechtsextremen Positionen |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/sahra-wagenknecht-zu-afd-alice-weidel-vertritt-keine-rechtsextremen-positionen-19541790.html |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=FAZ.NET |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240224082943/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/sahra-wagenknecht-zu-afd-alice-weidel-vertritt-keine-rechtsextremen-positionen-19541790.html |archive-date=24 February 2024 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2024-04-12 |title="Putin hat schon oft gelogen" – BSW-Vorsitzende Sahra Wagenknecht im t-online-Interview |url=https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100383456/sahra-wagenknecht-im-interview-putin-hat-schon-oft-gelogen-.html |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=t-online |language=de |archive-date=12 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240412080652/https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100383456/sahra-wagenknecht-im-interview-putin-hat-schon-oft-gelogen-.html |url-status=live}} In June 2024 she defended the absence of the BSW MPs from a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Bundestag, she described the war in Ukraine as a "proxy war" between NATO and Russia.{{Cite news |last=Daniel |first=Isabelle |date=2024-06-13 |title=Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht: Sahra Wagenknecht verteidigt Boykott von Selenskyj-Rede im Bundestag |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-06/sahra-wagenknecht-ukraine-wolodymyr-selenskyj-bundestag-boykott |access-date=2024-12-19 |work=Die Zeit |language=de |issn=0044-2070 |archive-date=13 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613045313/https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-06/sahra-wagenknecht-ukraine-wolodymyr-selenskyj-bundestag-boykott |url-status=live}}

In December 2024, Wagenknecht declared that she "condemns this war." She "considers politicians who start wars - and that also applies to Vladimir Putin - to be criminals."{{Cite news |date=2024-12-19 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht: BSW-Politikerin bezeichnet Wladimir Putin als Verbrecher |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-bsw-politikerin-bezeichnet-putin-als-verbrecher-a-86f3b304-2a5a-406a-a763-46d5715261c1 |access-date=2024-12-19 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349 |archive-date=19 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219224251/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/sahra-wagenknecht-bsw-politikerin-bezeichnet-putin-als-verbrecher-a-86f3b304-2a5a-406a-a763-46d5715261c1 |url-status=live}}

Amidst the Gaza war, Wagenknecht described the Gaza Strip as an "open-air prison".{{cite news |last=Scally |first=Derek |date=23 October 2023 |title=German Linke rebel walks out to form new left-wing populist party |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2023/10/23/german-linke-rebel-walks-out-for-new-leftists-populist-party/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231024032440/https://www.irishtimes.com/world/europe/2023/10/23/german-linke-rebel-walks-out-for-new-leftists-populist-party/ |archive-date=24 October 2023 |access-date=24 October 2023 |newspaper=The Irish Times |issn=0791-5144}} In an August 2024 interview she stated "I will always defend Israel's right to exist. [Israel does have the right to defend itself against] Hamas and its terrible attack in October. But the campaign of destruction in the Gaza Strip has long ceased to be self-defence." She also stated that a ceasefire is needed.{{cite news |title=Germany's Wagenknecht rejects claims she stirs up anti-Israel hatred |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/germanys-wagenknecht-rejects-claims-she-164119114.html |access-date=16 October 2024 |agency=DPA |publisher=Yahoo News |archive-date=26 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240826175419/https://www.yahoo.com/news/germanys-wagenknecht-rejects-claims-she-164119114.html |url-status=live}}

In response to the 2015 Cologne sexual attacks, Wagenknecht stated "Whoever abuses his right to hospitality has forfeited his right to hospitality". This statement was almost unanimously criticized in her party and parliamentary group colleagues, but did receive praise from some in the AfD.{{Cite news|title=Ärger um Sahra Wagenknecht|url=https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/linke-und-fluechtlinge-aerger-um-sahra-wagenknecht/12833340.html|access-date=18 July 2021|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online|language=de|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718064510/https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/linke-und-fluechtlinge-aerger-um-sahra-wagenknecht/12833340.html|url-status=live}}

On 28 May 2016, an activist from the anti-fascist group Torten für Menschenfeinde ("Cakes for Enemies of Humanity") pushed a chocolate cake into Wagenknecht's face at a Left Party meeting in Magdeburg in response to Wagenknecht's calls for limits on the number of refugees. Wagenknecht has criticized Angela Merkel's refugee policies, arguing that her government has not provided the levels of financial and infrastructural support required to avoid increasing pressure on local authorities and the labor market, thereby exacerbating tensions in society.{{cite web |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2018/10/sahra-wagenknecht-aufstehen-die-linke-interview |title=Standing Up to Merkel |last1=Sunkara |first1=Bhaskar |author-link=Bhaskar Sunkara |last2=Baltner |first2=Adam |date=11 October 2018 |website=Jacobin |access-date=23 November 2018 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124055347/https://jacobinmag.com/2018/10/sahra-wagenknecht-aufstehen-die-linke-interview |url-status=live }} She has also claimed that Merkel's policies were partly to blame for the 2016 Berlin truck attack.{{cite web |url=https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/01/die-linke-germany-sahra-wagenknecht-refugees-afd |title=In Defense of Die Linke |last=Wilde |first=Florian |date=26 January 2017 |website=Jacobin |access-date=23 November 2018 |archive-date=24 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124055205/https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/01/die-linke-germany-sahra-wagenknecht-refugees-afd |url-status=live }}

Partly in response to these experiences, in 2021, she published the book Die Selbstgerechten ("The Self-Righteous") in which she criticizes so-called "left-liberals" ("Linksliberale") for being neither left nor liberal but rather supporting the ruling classes, and, to some extent, their own interests. The book features, among several other topics, a discussion on immigration's alleged negative impacts on the domestic working class. It reached number one in the German non-fiction bestseller list as published by Der Spiegel.Der Spiegel 26/2021, pp. 111

At the beginning of June 2015, Wagenknecht, together with 150 other celebrities from culture and politics, signed an open letter to the Chancellor calling for same-sex civil partnerships to be given equal treatment to opposite-sex marriage.{{Cite news |date=2015-06-01 |title=Homo-Ehe: Promis fordern Gleichstellung |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/homo-ehe-promis-fordern-gleichstellung-a-1036516.html |access-date=2024-01-09 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604070332/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/homo-ehe-promis-fordern-gleichstellung-a-1036516.html |archive-date=2015-06-04 |url-status=live}} In 2017, Wagenknecht advocated for legalization of same-sex marriage.{{Cite web |title=Ist die Ehe für alle nur ein "Wohlfühllabel"? Sahra Wagenknecht im Interview |url=https://www.siegessaeule.de/magazin/4043-ist-die-ehe-f%C3%BCr-alle-nur-ein-wohlf%C3%BChllabel-sahra-wagenknecht-im-interview/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.siegessaeule.de%2Fmagazin%2F4043-ist-die-ehe-f%25C3%25BCr-alle-nur-ein-wohlf%25C3%25BChllabel-sahra-wagenknecht-im-interview%2F |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=www.siegessaeule.de |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109004409/https://www.siegessaeule.de/magazin/4043-ist-die-ehe-f%C3%BCr-alle-nur-ein-wohlf%C3%BChllabel-sahra-wagenknecht-im-interview/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.siegessaeule.de%2Fmagazin%2F4043-ist-die-ehe-f%C3%BCr-alle-nur-ein-wohlf%C3%BChllabel-sahra-wagenknecht-im-interview%2F |archive-date=2024-01-09 |url-status=live}}

In 2024, Wagenknecht voted against a bill that would make it easier to change one's gender. When referencing said bill, Wagenknecht stated "your law turns parents and children into guinea pigs for an ideology that only benefits the pharmaceutical lobby".

Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, Wagenknecht has opined that only the elderly and vulnerable groups need to be vaccinated against the disease, and agitated against the German government response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wagenknecht has opposed proposals for COVID-19 vaccine mandates, arguing they should be a personal choice.{{Cite news |last=Chazan |first=Guy |date=2022-04-07 |title=Olaf Scholz defeated over plan for mandatory Covid vaccines in Germany |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/7d0610bf-3cf9-4edd-a392-e9d97dc9fade |access-date=2023-06-08 |quote="Sahra Wagenknecht, of the hard left Die Linke party, said vaccinations against coronavirus “must remain a personal decision”." |archive-date=8 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608174914/https://www.ft.com/content/7d0610bf-3cf9-4edd-a392-e9d97dc9fade |url-status=live }}

Wagenknecht's positions have been compared to those of the far-right Alternative for Germany. In November 2021, Left Party colleagues such as Maximilian Becker, Martina Renner, and Niema Movassat suggested that Wagenknecht leave the party.{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/corona-karl-lauterbach-kritisiert-sahra-wagenknecht-fuer-impf-aussagen-a-46230072-e934-4263-8b11-9cde23001116|title=Lauterbach criticizes Wagenknecht's vaccination statements as dangerous|date=3 November 2021|language=de|website=Der Spiegel|access-date=5 December 2021|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205092902/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/corona-karl-lauterbach-kritisiert-sahra-wagenknecht-fuer-impf-aussagen-a-46230072-e934-4263-8b11-9cde23001116|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/sahra-wagenknecht-linke-vorstand-maximilian-becker-legt-wagenknecht-afd-eintritt-nahe-a-a62b4c61-2404-43f5-abf5-62214fd7a231|title=Left Party board member suggests Wagenknecht join the AfD|date=12 November 2021|language=de|website=Der Spiegel|access-date=5 December 2021|archive-date=5 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205092906/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/sahra-wagenknecht-linke-vorstand-maximilian-becker-legt-wagenknecht-afd-eintritt-nahe-a-a62b4c61-2404-43f5-abf5-62214fd7a231|url-status=live}}

File:Maischberger - 2023-02-08-6660.jpg

Wagenknecht married businessman Ralph-Thomas Niemeyer in May 1997."[http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,173601,00.html Betrugsverdacht – Ermittlungen gegen Sahra Wagenknechts Ehemann] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302011938/http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/0,1518,173601,00.html |date=2 March 2010 }}," Der Spiegel (19 December 2001). On 12 November 2011, politician Oskar Lafontaine stated publicly that he and Wagenknecht had become "close friends".{{cite news|url=https://www.faz.net/1.1526540| date=12 November 2011 |title=Linke Liebe: Lafontaine und Wagenknecht ein Paar|first1=Markus|last1=Wehner|newspaper=faz.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026213336/https://www.faz.net/1.1526540 |archive-date=2023-10-26 |url-status=live}} At the time, Wagenknecht and Lafontaine had already separated from their respective spouses.[http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,797402,00.html Beziehung mit Wagenknecht: Lafo in Love] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421160006/http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,797402,00.html |date=21 April 2012 }} Spiegel Online vom 12. November 2011{{cite web |url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/leben/linke-liebe-lafontaine-stellt-wagenknecht-als-seine-freundin-vor-1.1187400 |title=Lafontaine stellt Wagenknecht als seine Freundin vor |work=Süddeutsche Zeitung |date=12 November 2011 |access-date=12 November 2011 |archive-date=13 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113083924/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/leben/linke-liebe-lafontaine-stellt-wagenknecht-als-seine-freundin-vor-1.1187400 |url-status=live }} Wagenknecht married Lafontaine, 26 years her senior, on 22 December 2014.[https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/geheime-hochzeit-oskar-lafontaine-und-sahra-wagenknecht-haben-geheiratet-13497210.html Geheime Hochzeit: Oskar Lafontaine und Sahra Wagenknecht haben geheiratet] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920031224/https://www.faz.net/aktuell/gesellschaft/menschen/geheime-hochzeit-oskar-lafontaine-und-sahra-wagenknecht-haben-geheiratet-13497210.html |date=20 September 2020 }} (Secret wedding: Oskar Lafontaine and Sahra Wagenknecht got married, German article on www.faz.net, 22 March 2015) She is an atheist.http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/7.das_leben_leben.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006062257/http://www.sahra-wagenknecht.de/de/article/7.das_leben_leben.html |date=6 October 2017 }} Interviewer: "Gibt es bei Ihnen auch ab und an Zweifel am Atheismus? (Do you doubt your atheism from time to time?)" Sahra Wagenknecht: "Eigentlich nicht. (Not really.)"

In 2023, the media estimated Wagenknecht's assets at {{Euro|3{{nbsp}}million}}.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-29 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht: So viel Geld hat sie jeden Monat zur Verfügung |url=https://www.ohmymag.de/promis/deutschland/so-viel-verdienen-sahra-wagenknecht-und-co-nebenher_art20296.html |access-date=2024-01-09 |website=Ohmymag Deutschland |language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417174129/https://www.ohmymag.de/promis/deutschland/so-viel-verdienen-sahra-wagenknecht-und-co-nebenher_art20296.html |archive-date=2023-04-17 |url-status=live}} In addition to her parliamentary remuneration, Wagenknecht earned around {{Euro|750,000}} in book and speaking fees in 2023. She was one of the highest earning German politicians in the Bundestag in her last tenure.{{Cite web |last=Asim |first=Noor |date=2023-12-28 |title=Sahra Wagenknecht Vermögen |url=https://promimedien.com/sahra-wagenknecht-vermogen/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Promi Medien |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003084223/https://promimedien.com/sahra-wagenknecht-vermogen/ |archive-date=2022-10-03 |url-status=live}}

• Kapital, Crash, Krise… Kein Ausweg in Sicht? Fragen an Sahra Wagenknecht. ("Capital, crash, crisis… No way out in sight? Questions to Sahra Wagenknecht.") Pahl-Rugenstein, Bonn 1998, {{ISBN|3-89144-250-5}}.
• Die Mythen der Modernisierer. ("The myths of the modernizers.") Dingsda, Querfurt 2001, {{ISBN|3-928498-84-3}}.
• Kapitalismus im Koma: Eine sozialistische Diagnose. ("Capitalism in a coma: A socialist diagnosis.") Edition Ost, Berlin 2003, {{ISBN|3-360-01050-7}}.
• Wahnsinn mit Methode: Finanzkrise und Weltwirtschaft. ("Methodical madness: Financial crisis and global economy.") Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 2008, {{ISBN|978-3-360-01956-1}}.
• Freiheit statt Kapitalismus: Wie wir zu mehr Arbeit, Innovation und Gerechtigkeit kommen. ("Freedom instead of capitalism: How we will achieve more work, innovation, and justice.") Eichborn, Berlin 2011, {{ISBN|978-3-8218-6546-1}}.
• Freiheit statt Kapitalismus: Über vergessene Ideale, die Eurokrise und unsere Zukunft. ("Freedom instead of capitalism: About forgotten ideals, the Euro crisis, and our future.") 2nd expanded edition, Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2012, {{ISBN|978-3-593-39731-3}}; ungekürzte Taschenbuchausgabe: dtv, München 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-423-34783-9}}.
• The Limits of Choice. Saving Decisions and Basic Needs in Developed Countries. Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-593-39916-4}}. (Also doctoral dissertation at the Technische Universität Chemnitz in 2012.)
• Kapitalismus, was tun? Schriften zur Krise. ("Capitalism, what to do? Writings about the crisis.") Das Neue Berlin, Berlin 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-360-02159-5}}.}.
• Reichtum ohne Gier. Wie wir uns vor dem Kapitalismus retten. ("Prosperity Without Greed: How to Save Ourselves from Capitalism"), {{Ill|Campus-Verlag|de}}, Frankfurt am Main 2016, {{ISBN|978-3-5935-0516-9}}.
• {{Ill|Die Selbstgerechten: Mein Gegenprogramm – für Gemeinsinn und Zusammenhalt|de|Die Selbstgerechten}}. ("The self-righteous: my counter-scheme – for public spirit and social cohesion."), Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2021, {{ISBN|978-3-593-51390-4}}.

{{reflist |30em}}

• {{official website}} {{in lang |de}}
• [http://www.europarl.europa.eu/members/public/geoSearch/view.do?language=EN&id=28250 European Parliament profile] {{in lang |en}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnHPmcUgfRU Wagenknecht criticizes Merkel for serving US interests to detriment of EU population/economy 26.11] with English subtitles, 26 November 2014 {{in lang |de |en}}
• [http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=8882 Video of Wagenknecht interview] on The Real News Network, 26 September 2012 {{in lang |en}}
• [http://www.die-linke.de/partei/organe/parteivorstand/parteivorstand_20082010/mitglieder/wagenknecht_sahra/ Left Party profile] {{in lang |de}}
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6Aw7atpis Video of Wagenknecht at 2008 Left Party Congress] at YouTube {{in lang |de}}

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