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Former German Left Party politician Sahra Wagenknecht on 8 January officially launched her much-anticipated political party, the "" (BSW). The party aims to compete in the European elections in Germany on 9 June and in three regional votes in eastern Germany in September. While the new party aims to draft its official party programme only in time for the next national election in 2025, Wagenknecht, who announced her plans in October, has made energy policy a central issue in her movement, criticising for instance the current government鈥檚 decision to turn away from cheap Russian energy supply, its controversial heating law and EU plans to ban combustion engine cars after 2035. Wagenknecht previously complained that Germany had cut itself off from cheap gas and oil through economic sanctions against Russia with no viable alternatives. She has also taken issue with what she describes as 鈥渂lind, haphazard eco-activism, which makes people's lives even more expensive but actually does nothing at all for the climate鈥�. The new party stands for a 鈥渞eturn of reason鈥� in politics, Wagenknecht said, by the S眉ddeutsche Zeitung. Pointing to fight against climate change, Wagenknecht said it was completely nonsensical to ban combustion cars, which did little for the climate and undermines German automakers, which could have had an export hit with low-consumption engines had they been given the opportunity to further develop combustion engine technology. In July, Wagenknecht 骋别谤尘补苍测鈥檚 heating law in an op-ed in the , describing it as 鈥渁n attack on citizens' wealth and property; it is poorly thought out, poorly crafted and useless in terms of climate policy鈥�. The BSW is expected to present its EU election program following its first party conference at the end of January.

2024 is a major election year in Germany, Europe and globally, and could pose a test to climate policymaking, as populist and far-right parties like the AfD are polling high. These have especially seized on people鈥檚 fears of change and high energy prices in the past. Meanwhile, Hans-Georg Maassen, the former president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution who repeating anti-Semitic and racist tropes, looks set to also launch a new party, right of centre, branching out of his conservative Values Union (Werteunion) association. The Values Union backs the construction of new nuclear power plants and more research funding for nuclear fusion technology, Deutschlandfunk .