Historian Winkler warns against BSW foreign policy

Historian Heinrich August Winkler warns of the growing influence of the AfD and the Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) alliance on German foreign policy. He called on politicians from the CDU and SPD not to "fall into Wagenknecht's trap" when considering coalitions at state level. AfD and BSW are two deeply anti-Western parties, Winkler told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "Both fundamentally question Germany's ties to the West, a core element of the German reason of state. If it were up to them, Germany's foreign policy would in future be oriented more towards the East than the West."

The "state-supporting pro-Western parties" would be "well advised to proactively counter the anti-Western agitation of the AfD and BSW and denounce their peace propaganda for what it is: support for Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine", warned the historian. Coalitions with the AfD are not up for debate, but those with the BSW certainly are. However, it is an illusion to believe that a coalition with the BSW at state level would have no influence on federal policy.

"Don't fall into Wagenknecht's trap"

Wagenknecht is primarily concerned with a "radically different, namely an anti-Western and pro-Russian German foreign policy". East German prime ministers or candidates for this office - whether from the CDU or SPD - should not close their eyes to this fact. "They must not fall into Wagenknecht's trap. After all, they also have a federal political responsibility," warned the 85-year-old historian.

In the RND interview, CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann emphasized with regard to the BSW and Wagenknecht: "Our position on Ukraine is very clear and we will not allow any conditions to be imposed on us here." The stationing of medium-range missiles would be decided "in Berlin and not in Erfurt", said Linnemann against the background of the BSW's refusal to station new US missiles in Germany.