The former head of the Left Party, Bernd Riexinger, is in favor of her being excluded from the party and parliamentary group if the controversial MP Sahra Wagenknecht founds a party. "As soon as there are concrete steps towards founding a new company, there must be no more room for them in the party and parliamentary group," said the member of the Bundestag to the news portal "The Pioneer".

He accuses Wagenknecht of keeping the founding of a party "giving a lot of media buzz" because it can only push a project like this through the media. Wagenknecht had "long since broken with our party". She "no longer plays a role in the party" and founding a party will fail, said Riexinger.

The left-wing member of the Bundestag had told the news portal "ZDFheute.de" that she was thinking about founding her own party and wanted to decide on it by the end of the year. "By the end of the year it must be clear what will happen next," she said.

Wagenknecht's rejection of another candidacy for the left had fueled new speculation about a split in the party. She recently caused irritation in her party with her positions on the Ukraine war.