Wagenknecht: Peace issue decisive for coalitions

BSW party founder Sahra Wagenknecht also makes coalitions in eastern Germany dependent on her partners' stance on the war in Ukraine. "We will only participate in a state government that also takes a clear position at federal level in favor of diplomacy and against preparations for war," said the leader of the alliance Sahra Wagenknecht to the German Press Agency. Because it is clear "that a new arms race will swallow up billions that are urgently needed for schools, hospitals, housing and higher pensions".

New state parliaments will be elected in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in September. In addition to education and migration, Wagenknecht's BSW party is also focusing on the issue of peace - and is very popular in the three states with poll ratings of 15 to 20 percent. The AfD is also taking up the issue. Both parties are against arms deliveries to Ukraine and in favor of immediate negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

"The issue of peace is very important," said Wagenknecht. "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 is in favor of this as a response to a growing Russian threat.