A LEADING German left-wing politician today announced plans to form a new party.

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance — for Reason and Fairness Party will be formally launched in January, in time for European Parliament elections in June.

Three state elections in the east of the country will follow next autumn.

The project was launched at a time national polls show the right-wing conservatives leading and the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in second place with around 20 per cent support.

Ms Wagenknecht grew up in East Germany and joined the ruling Socialist Unity Party in 1989. 

She was a prominent figure in its successor organisation and then from 2005 in the Left Party (die Linke), when eastern former communists merged with western socialists. She has clashed with the party leadership repeatedly since the Ukraine war began, calling for peace negotiations and an end to arms supplies to Kiev.

Ms Wagenknecht said that with the economic sanctions against Russia “we have cut off ourselves off from cheap energy without there being viable alternatives.”

She accused Mr Scholz’s government of abandoning “the important tradition of detente” and argued that “conflicts cannot be resolved militarily — that goes for Ukraine, that goes for the Middle East and it goes for many other parts of the world.”

Another leading left MP, Sevim Dagdelen, has also joined the new party, arguing that a combative left was needed to battle the far right.

She said: “Democracy needs diversity of opinion and open debate. The government’s inability to deal with the crises of our time and the narrowing of the accepted corridor of opinion have flushed the AfD to the top.

“We want to build a new political force, a democratic voice for social justice, peace, reason and freedom.”

Ms Wagenknecht left the Left party on Monday along with Amira Mohamed Ali, the co-leader of its parliamentary group and now the chair of Ms Wagenknecht’s alliance, Ms Dagdelen and seven other MPs.