Union politicians still see many question marks regarding BSW

The CDU does not want to rule out the Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) alliance as a possible coalition partner in a federal state, despite concerns expressed by former GDR civil rights activists. Of course, the BSW is not a "preferred candidate" for the CDU, said Thorsten Frei (CDU), Parliamentary Secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, in Berlin. The alliance is also "still a black box" in many respects - both in terms of content and personnel.

However, "it doesn't help us if we rule out all sorts of things from Berlin." The CDU has party conference resolutions that rule out cooperation with the AfD or the Left Party. However, it would be wrong to take individual options off the table with regard to all others. "At the end of the day, it's about dealing with what the sovereign decides." A look at Thuringia and Saxony, where a new state parliament will be elected on 1 September, shows that it could be "extremely complicated", said Frei.

Former civil rights activists warn against coalition with BSW

Former GDR civil rights activists had warned against the new party Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht joining the government after the state elections in East Germany. The background to this are statements from the BSW on the war in Ukraine.

Wagenknecht, for her part, had said that the "peace issue" was very important to her party. She emphasized - also with a view to possible coalitions in the countries: "Many people are rightly worried because the German government is increasingly turning our country into a warring party in the Ukraine war and has so far failed to make any effort to find diplomatic solutions." She also criticized the announcement that US missiles would be stationed in Germany in 2026. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) is in favor of this as a reaction to a growing Russian threat.

In polls, the BSW recently reached values of 15 to 20 percent in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, where a new state parliament will be elected on September 22.