Germany's hard-left star politician Sahra Wagenknecht, who recently left Die Linke (The Left) to found her own political movement, officially founded her own party on Monday morning.
At the launch in a Berlin hotel, Bundestag member Wagenknecht said it was "a bit of a historic day" that she and the others who have joined her were "laying the foundation stone for a party that has the potential to fundamentally change the German political spectrum and, above all, to fundamentally change politics" in Germany.
The founding itself took place behind closed doors.
The party's programme and leadership are to be officially presented at a press conference at 1 pm (1200 GMT). A dual leadership is expected.
In October, Wagenknecht left Die Linke along with nine lawmakers and announced plans to found a new party. Her breakaway political movement, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), was initially founded as an association as a preparatory step to forming a party and to collect donations for it.
