A German far-left politician will launch on Tuesday a cross-party movement called “Stand up”, modelled on the populist campaigns of US Senator Bernie Sanders and Britain’s Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Its declared goal is to counter the “neoliberal policies” of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centrist coalition government and fight for secure jobs and pensions, environmental protection, and “a true democracy not ruled by banks, corporations and lobbyists”.

Its founders hope to energise and unite in a grassroots movement followers of Germany’s three leftist parties, but also win back disenchanted working-class voters who have drifted to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).