Dispute over BSW involvement in government negotiations in East Germany

BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht rejects accusations that she is interfering too much in the government negotiations in the eastern German states. Wagenknecht told MDR-aktuell that "first of all, our people are negotiating on the ground, even in different teams. But of course we are coordinating. All parties are doing that."

Talks are underway in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg to form a government with the involvement of the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance. One sticking point is the party leader's demand for the inclusion of peace policy demands in the preamble of possible coalition agreements. The CDU and SPD accuse Wagenknecht of interfering too much in the talks on the ground.

Peace formula as a test of the seriousness of governing with the BSW

Wagenknecht emphasized that the issue of peace was one of the most important topics in the party's election campaign. With a view to Thuringia, she said: "If the CDU and the SPD realize that we are allowing ourselves to negotiate away an elementary issue, namely the issue of war and peace, we would not only lose face on this point, but we would also be less successful on all other points. Because if you allow yourself to be treated like that, the other parties will no longer take you seriously."

The BSW is "not a party like all the others, which allows everything to be negotiated away after the election just to fill ministerial posts, but we have brought a clear substantive claim into this government", said Wagenknecht.

The deputy federal CDU chairman Andreas Jung accused Wagenknecht of torpedoing talks on the ground, which were being conducted pragmatically, as "Ich AG" with a fundamental opposition. The decisive question for Thuringia is: "Is it about Thuringia or is it about Ms Wagenknecht's profile?" said Jung on ZDF's "Morgenmagazin".