German leftist party leader Wagenknecht attacked with paint at campaign rally

ERFURT (Reuters) - The leader of Germany's Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was attacked with pink paint on Thursday at a campaign rally in the eastern German state of Thuringia, where her party is expected to come third in state parliamentary elections this Sunday.

A middle-aged white man sprayed paint at the party's eponymous leader Sahra Wagenknecht as she stood on stage. Wagenknecht stepped aside and was not hit. Security staff quickly apprehended the man as the crowds shouted "Sahra, Sahra!"

"It is noticeable that some people don't want us. That speaks for us. Don't let yourself be intimidated - we won't let ourselves be intimidated," Wagenknecht said from the podium after the man was taken away.

"We're going to change this country," added Wagenknecht, who has advocated for ending military aid to Ukraine and for far stricter immigration policies, positions considered controversial by some.

The man remained silent as he was removed and his motive was unclear.

Created in January by an exodus from the left-wing Left party, Wagenknecht presents BSW as the answer to the impasse in the country's politics created by the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany.

Blending social conservatism and left-wing economics, the BSW promises higher pensions, better schools, less immigration without excluding refugees, better jobs but fewer onerous regulations for employers.

(Reporting by Andi Kranz, Frank Simon, Anna Dittrich; Writing by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Aurora Ellis)