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Sahra Wagenknecht once again receives financial support from a couple from Mecklenburg

Photo: Martin Schutt/dpa

The financial scope of the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) is growing significantly: As can be seen from a donation overview from the Bundestag, the alliance of the former left-wing politician received 4.09 million euros on March 13th. All party donations of more than 50,000 euros must be reported to parliament and published.

The large donation apparently comes from the couple Lotte Salingré and Thomas Stanger from Mecklenburg. The couple had already donated almost one million euros to the BSW in January. At the time, the couple told the editorial network Germany (RND) that the new party should have the same starting chances for the coming elections as established political forces.

According to RND, the couple made money in the high-tech industry and have lived near Wismar for 20 years. The decisive factor for her donation was “peace policy,” said Salingré. In the Bundestag's announcement, only Stanger is once again formally listed as a donor.

Wagenknecht: “We are very grateful”

“This very generous donation shows how much people want a new political beginning in Germany,” said party leader Sahra Wagenknecht to the “T-Online” portal. “We are very grateful and will do everything we can to ensure that we meet expectations,” she said, referring to the European elections in June and the state elections in East Germany in September.

In the European elections, the BSW will be eligible for election for the first time and will be competing with parties "that have a budget of over ten million euros available for the European election campaign alone," said BSW treasurer Ralph Suikat, who is a millionaire himself. The party therefore continues to rely on further financial support.

The CDU also recently received a large donation. According to the Bundestag, the entrepreneur Stephan Schambach gave the party a donation of 300,000 euros. The e-commerce entrepreneur had already donated a total of 370,000 euros to the CDU on two different occasions in the 2021 election year.

fek/ply/AFP