- The AfD expresses concerns about potentially surpassing the BSW in influence.
After requests from the Wagenknecht party BSW for a fresh perspective on the AfD, top candidates from the Greens and SPD showed concern. "Is it their strategy to keep all cards on the table? That truly worries me," stated Green leader Madeleine Henfling to German media. There are suggestions that a partnership between BSW and AfD could materialize, as she noticed overlaps in certain political areas within the programs of the two parties. Furthermore, there's the risk that BSW members might be "swamped" due to their lack of political experience, she mentioned.
Potential Approval of AfD Bills
BSW top candidate Katja Wolf ignited a commotion on Thursday during a TV discussion, as she failed to rule out that her party might support AfD proposals if they found them valid. Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht later stated that the former strategy of outright rejecting AfD initiatives and boasting about democratic values hadn't checkmated the AfD. "If the AfD declares the sky blue, BSW won't claim it's green. Deriving coalition intentions from that is simplistic," she added. Meanwhile, BSW officials at federal and state levels repeatedly underscored that they would not form a coalition with the AfD.
SPD top candidate Georg Maier asserted that BSW positions itself as an alternative to the AfD, but then acts as a majority provider. "For me, BSW remains a significant question mark in terms of content and personnel," he stated. Much of it is contradictory.
Henfling warned that BSW is a blend of "great naivety and inexperience in politics. In a party that's about to assume governmental responsibility, that makes me more anxious."
BSW chairwoman Wolf had served as a state legislator for the Left and mayor of Eisenach for several years, but the young party also includes political newcomers who could enter the state parliament after the election.
Maier reiterated that the SPD will not join a government that relies on shifting majorities involving the AfD.
A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on September 1. According to recent polls, BSW ranks third with values ranging from 19 to 21 percent, just behind the CDU. The SPD stands at six to seven percent, and the Greens must brace themselves for potential loss of re-entry into the state parliament with values between three and four percent.
BSW's potential alliance with AfD, as suggested by Green leader Madeleine Henfling, has raised concerns among top candidates from parties like the Greens and SPD. BSW top candidate Katja Wolf's ambiguous stance on supporting AfD proposals has further fueled these concerns, as she refused to categorically reject the possibility.
