Die Linke, Germany’s largest left party, has long been split between a reformist and radical wing. Now, in the wake of refugee arrivals in Germany and the resurgence of far-right populism, this division has blurred.

Sahra Wagenknecht, long-time icon of the party’s radical wing, has begun a campaign to win over the supporters of the new right, expressing concerns about the country’s border policy and empathizing with voters who worry how an influx of refugees might affect their lives. Her erstwhile followers accuse her of surrendering to racism and xenophobia and insist that the party uphold the principles of openness and inclusion. This new conflict strands Wagenknecht between the two established camps: she now finds herself equally alienated from both the urban radical circles and the party’s reformists.

Germany will hold elections in September, but the political landscape seems to preclude any chance of meaningful change. Barring unexpected developments, we can predict that Angela Merkel’s center-right CDU/CSU, an alliance between Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria, will once again control the largest faction in the Bundestag. Its poll numbers have been relatively stable (around 35 percent), far ahead of the Social Democrats (SPD), whose decline continues. The SPD now pulls around 20 percent of voters.