What do Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and the German politician Sahra Wagenknecht have in common? They all appear to have migrated across the political spectrum.
Gabbard and Kennedy are both former Democrats who vocally supported Donald Trump during the campaign and Wagenknecht has gone from the far left of Germany’s Left Party to strident nationalism. Earlier this year, she founded a new party modestly named after herself. After faring well in elections in three East German states this fall, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance seems likely to enter the Bundestag in the 2025 federal election.
Do these political migrations reflect a mere opportunistic betrayal of principles or is something more complicated going on? An obvious explanation is psychological: Moves across the political spectrum earn the precious currency of attention. People accustomed to a high profile in the media sometimes need a dramatic gesture to get themselves back in the news. But the limits of such a reductionist explanation are obvious: Most — if not all — politicians are after the limelight, but very few switch parties and positions.
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