- Thuringian BSW candidate: Firewall has made AfD stronger
Thuringia's top candidate for the Alliance for Progress (BSW) party, Katja Wolf, advocates for a more pragmatic approach to dealing with the AfD, for instance during votes. "The firewall has only made the AfD stronger," said the former mayor of Eisenach in an interview with the "World". Thuringia will elect a new state parliament on September 1.
Wolf gave an example: "When the AfD has submitted reasonable proposals, other parties were at a loss. They would then reject the proposal and sometimes introduce a similar one themselves later on." People in the East have a "fine sense for such false ideological overriding."
If there are clear reasons to reject a proposal, it should be rejected. "Or one must stand above it and say: It's reasonable, we'll agree. There needs to be more pragmatism and less ideology."
However, Wolf ruled out a cooperation with the AfD. Thuringia's AfD, led by its chairman Björn Höcke, is classified as securely right-wing extremist by the state's Office for the Protection of the Constitution and is under observation.
Wolf: "Ramelow is a pragmatist"
Wolf confirmed that she could imagine cooperating with Thuringia's current Minister President Bodo Ramelow after the state election. Ramelow is a pragmatist, she appreciates him. She can imagine coalitions with all democratic parties.
According to a recent survey by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen in cooperation with the ZDF-Politbarometer, the AfD is leading in the Free State with 30 percent. The CDU comes in second with 21 percent, and the BSW is at 19 percent. The Left is at 15 percent. Since none of the parties want to cooperate with the AfD to enter the state parliament, the second-placed party could claim the position of Minister President.
Wolf praised Ramelow's pragmatism, stating, "Ramelow is a pragmatist." She further expressed her willingness to consider cooperation with Ramelow after the state election, as she appreciates his pragmatic approach.
Despite the AfD leading in Thuringia with 30%, Wolf, as the top candidate for BSW, has ruled out any cooperation with the party due to its classification as right-wing extremist by the state's Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
