19-year-old to become head of Berlin's BSW youth organization

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) also plans to establish a youth organization in Berlin, the Youth Alliance JSW. The founding is to be formally approved at a meeting on November 8 in Berlin-Mitte. The first personnel details have already been announced.

With five state elections, the coming year will be a decisive one for Germany's political landscape – as well as for the medium-term future of the BSW. Following the elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate in March, the party's focus is primarily on three elections in September: Saxony-Anhalt kicks things off on September 6th, and Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin will conclude the super election year of 2026 on September 20th.

Super election year 2026: The BSW is betting on these three eastern elections

While the BSW will have little to no chance of gaining ground in the southwest of the country, the party aims to enter the state parliaments in the three eastern elections. To this end, district chapters will be established nationwide, meaning in all Berlin districts.

Now, youth organizations are also joining the party. According to the party, this will give "the country's young generation its own strong voice for reason and justice." In Berlin, the initiators expect an initial 75 to 100 supporters – consisting of party members under 35, but also interested individuals and supporters without party membership, with whom they have already networked.

19-year-old to become head of the youth association JSW

Johann Geißler, a 19-year-old high school graduate from Lichtenberg, wants to become chairman of the Berlin JSW (Berlin Youth Socialists). He says he has been in contact with the party for some time. He helped found the BSW parliamentary group in the Lichtenberg district council last year—to date, the only BSW parliamentary group in a Berlin parliament.

But why do they even need their own youth organization? In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, Geißler spoke of "youth-specific issues" that they wanted to get involved in. These included, he said, the planned return of conscription ("We don't want to go to war"), as well as educational and cultural issues. Geißler also emphasized the housing shortage, for example among students, as being important to young people.

The designated chairman doesn't yet have a clear idea of ​​how the JSW intends to position itself vis-à-vis its parent party. "We're not looking for conflict," said Geißler, and they don't want to be a "thorn in the side of the BSW" on principle.

Seven men on the board? BSW youth waives quota

When it comes to gender equality, the JSW also clearly sets itself apart from youth organizations such as the SPD, the Greens, or the Left Party. A seven-member executive board is scheduled to be elected on November 8. There will be no gender quota. It's conceivable, then, that the board could consist of seven young men.

With the upcoming founding meeting, the JSW Berlin is following the example of Saxony-Anhalt, where a youth organization was founded a few days ago. The chair team there consists of a 21-year-old industrial mechanic trainee and a 31-year-old prospective driving instructor.