Sahra Wagenknecht, a longtime icon of hard-left politics in Germany, is stepping down as co-leader of the populist party she founded only last year.

On Monday, Wagenknecht, who started out in politics as a member of East Germany’s communist party, announced that she will not seek reelection as the leader of the party that bears here name — Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW. At the same time, she vowed to stay on as a key figure in the party, remaining, in effect, its most prominent leader.

“I will continue to be active in a leadership role within BSW,” Wagenknecht said. “And I will continue to support the party with great commitment on its path ahead and in the next election campaigns.”

BSW, a party that merges elements of hard-left and hard-right politics — an ideology Wagenknecht has dubbed “left conservativism” — surged in national polls shortly after its creation and was particularly popular in the former East Germany, where the party won parliamentary seats in two states.

But the party lost momentum ahead of the federal snap election in February, particularly as Wagenknecht’s former party, Die Linke, or The Left, surged in polls ahead of the vote. Ultimately, BSW failed to meet the 5 percent threshold required to make it into the Bundestag, missing the mark by less that 10,000 votes.

The announcement on the leadership change comes at a time when the party is looking to move away from its reliance on Wagenknecht and build broader, grassroots support.

Current party co-leader Amira Mohamed Ali is set to remain in place, while MEP Fabio De Masi is considered a leading candidate to succeed Wagenknecht. Party leaders are also debating a new moniker so the party is no longer named after Wagenknecht.

BSW politicians continue to push for a recount of the votes from the federal election in February in an effort to still enter the German parliament. Such an outcome, however, is considered highly unlikely.

Rasmus Buchsteiner contributed to this report.