She has been one of the main driving forces in the formation of Aufstehen, a left-wing policital movement established in 2018, which exists outside of traditional political party structures and has been compared to the French movement La France Insoumise. In March 2019, Wagenknecht announced her withdrawal from her leadership role within Aufstehen, citing personal workload pressures and insisting that after a successful start-up phase, for which political experience was necessary, the time had come for the movement's own grass roots to resume control. She complained that the involvement of political parties at its heart had "walled in" (""sich eingemauert"") the movement. She would nonetheless continue to make public appearances on its behalf.