The newly founded Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) gains approval in the ZDF “Politbarometer” (plus two percentage points) and is at six percent. If there were a federal election this Sunday, the new party of the former Left MPs would enter parliament.
The strongest force would still be the Union with 31 percent, according to the survey by the Mannheim Elections Research Group. The AfD follows in second place with 19 percent, but loses 3 points compared to the previous survey from mid-January.
The current winners include the SPD, which climbs to 15 percent (2). The Greens fall to 13 percent (-1). The FDP remains unchanged at 4 percent and would therefore miss out on entering the Bundestag. According to the survey results, the traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP would not have a parliamentary majority. The Left with 3 percent (-1) would not currently enter the Bundestag either.
For the apparently representative survey, the Elections Research Group surveyed 1,217 eligible voters in Germany by telephone or online from January 30th to February 1st. Election surveys are generally always subject to uncertainty. Among other things, weakening party ties and increasingly short-term voting decisions make it more difficult for opinion research institutes to weight the data collected. In principle, surveys only reflect the opinion at the time of the survey and are not predictions of the election outcome.
Bundestag recognizes Left and BSW as new groups
Almost two months after the dissolution of the left-wing faction, the members of the Left and the new alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) in the Bundestag can now continue as separate groups. The majority in parliament recognized the two new formations and granted them parliamentary rights and millions in state subsidies. However, the Left and BSW are not entirely satisfied with the conditions.
Unlike political groups, rights and state subsidies for groups are not regulated by law, but are determined by majority decision. According to the resolutions, the two groups have fewer rights than parliamentary groups and they also receive less state subsidies. The CDU/CSU and AfD went too far with the conditions granted – they voted against the applications.
The Left can expect around 7.4 million euros per year for employees and other costs, the BSW around 4.9 million euros. The group chairmen – currently Dietmar Bartsch for the Left and Sahra Wagenknecht for the BSW – should have the same rights as group chairmen. The groups are allowed to submit draft laws, motions and motions for resolutions and submit up to ten small and large parliamentary questions to the federal government per month.
There was a dispute about this last point. Both the Left and the BSW protested that these requests could no longer be made indefinitely. “This restriction is an outrage,” said Left MP Heidi Reichinnek. BSW MP Jessica Tatti spoke of “unnecessary bullying of the opposition”.
Both groups complain that the opposition’s control rights are being restricted. Both want to check whether this is legally vulnerable. Speakers at the traffic light rejected the criticism. The specifications correspond exactly to “measure and balance,” said FDP MP Torsten Herbst.
