“In a country where, in spite of years of economic growth, almost half of the population has 40 percent fewer real earnings than twenty years ago, democracy ceases to function. This worries us, especially as we’re seeing how feelings of powerlessness and pent-up rage fuel hate and intolerance. And we are convinced: if nothing is done to stop this soon, this country will be unrecognizable in five or ten years.”

In September 2018, Die Linke MP and parliamentary group co-chair Sahra Wagenknecht spoke these ominous words before the Bundespressekonferenz, Germany’s most prominent political forum. The occasion was the launch of Aufstehen (“Stand Up”), an organization founded by, among others, Wagenknecht, the sociologist Wolfgang Streeck, and theater director Bernd Stegemann in hopes of uniting a fractured left, injecting questions of class back into Germany’s political discourse, and taking the wind out of the sails of an ascendant far right.

However, one year after its launch, Aufstehen has failed in every respect. Meanwhile, the far right is moving from strength to strength.