Thuringia's Electoral Drive - The BSW maintains its reservations concerning the foreign policy of alliances.
Despite facing criticism, Sahra Wagenknecht, the head of the Alliance for Progress (BSW), maintains that following the Thuringia state election, they will only collaborate with parties that advocate for a distinct German approach towards the conflict in Ukraine. Katja Wolf, BSW's main contender in the Thuringia state election, expressed this viewpoint at a gathering in Meiningen. She declared, "There's a demand for a strong and noticeable Thuringian voice advocating for a diplomatic resolution to the war."
The role of individual states in Germany's foreign policy is undeniably significant in a federal political structure like Germany's. As a result, excluding foreign policy discussions from state-level coalition talks is misguided, according to Wolf, who spoke during a meeting organized by daily newspaper Freies Wort.
Wagenknecht, the BSW's federal chairperson and founder, recently stated that other parties' stances on Germany's Ukraine policy would be a prerequisite for potential coalition agreements in the eastern German states following the upcoming state elections. "We will only join a state government that, at the federal level, supports diplomacy and opposes war preparations," Wagenknecht asserted.
This statement sparked a significant backlash from other parties. Firstly, because German foreign policy is not within the jurisdiction of individual federal states. Secondly, because the current German policy towards Ukraine is supported by parties like the SPD, CDU, and Greens, which would then be at odds with their federal parties if they were to become coalition partners of the BSW in the states.
During the gathering, Madeleine Henfling, the Green Party's main contender in the Thuringia state election, criticized Wagenknecht and Wolf's statements once more. "We certainly won't comply with that requirement, Katja," Henfling retorted. However, it's not essential to make foreign policy concerns a prerequisite for coalitions at the state level, Henfling added.
Even the current red-red-green coalition in Thuringia since 2014 may not have materialized if its leading representatives had focused on foreign policy issues, Henfling pointed out. Despite significant differences between the Left, SPD, and Greens on this issue, the three parties have been able to produce effective policy for the Free State over the past decade. "Different positions on foreign policy can coexist at the state level," Henfling concluded.
A new state parliament in Thuringia will be elected on September 1. According to recent surveys, the BSW can anticipate a second vote share of roughly 18 to 20 percent—a significant enough percentage to make the young party a necessity for government formation, excluding the participation of the Left and AfD.
After Henfling's criticism, Wolf suggested that focusing on foreign policy should not be a requirement for state-level coalitions. "It's not necessary to make foreign policy concerns a prerequisite for coalitions at the state level," Wolf suggested during the gathering. Furthermore, Wolf and Wagenknecht's stance on excluding parties with different foreign policy views for coalition agreements could potentially disrupt future parties' collaborations, such as the successful red-red-green coalition in Thuringia.
