BSW invites Kretschmer and Berger for talks

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is once again getting up close and personal with two candidates ahead of the prime ministerial election in the Saxon state parliament. As BSW party and parliamentary group leader Sabine Zimmermann announced, incumbent Michael Kretschmer (CDU) and Matthias Berger as the candidate of the Free Voters were invited for talks on Tuesday and have accepted the offer.

"We would like to give both candidates another opportunity to present their program for the coming years," Zimmermann told the German Press Agency. Exploratory talks between the CDU, BSW and SPD to form a joint government broke down at the beginning of November. At the time, there were differences of opinion on the issues of war and peace, financial policy and how to deal with migration.

The BSW has so far left open whether Kretschmer can count on votes from the alliance. "If we are to vote for Prime Minister Kretschmer, at least some of our core political demands must of course be respected - this includes listening to people's concerns and fears in the face of the ever-increasing threat of war," Zimmermann said at the weekend.

The election of the Prime Minister is scheduled for Wednesday. Alongside Kretschmer and Berger, AfD party and parliamentary group leader Jörg Urban also wants to run. It is not yet clear whether there will be a three-way fight in the first round of voting or whether Urban and Berger will only run in a possible second round. An absolute majority of votes - 61 out of 120 MPs - is required in the first round of voting. The CDU and SPD are ten votes short of this majority.