Free voters in Saxony reject firewall to AfD

The Free Voters (FW) in Saxony reject firewalls against political opponents such as the AfD. This was their reaction on Sunday to a resolution passed the day before by the federal party conference in Bitburg, which provides for a ban on cooperation with the AfD. They have taken note of this decision, but do not support it, explained the head of the FW in Saxony, Thomas Weidinger. At the same time, he does not believe the decision will have any major impact on his party in Saxony.

"The Free Voters in the municipalities are independent of any political party and are therefore not affected by this decision anyway. They have successfully proven for some time that the so-called firewall is not helpful when it comes to solving specific factual problems," emphasized Weidinger. The state association of independent voters wanted to "establish this proven approach to factual politics at state level".

"We have not had good experiences with building walls in Germany. The AfD voters we want to win back for the middle class would also disappear behind a firewall. Our aim is to return the word 'people's representative' to its true purpose, namely to make policy in the interests of the people," argued the FW leader. It should not matter which political party submits motions to the Saxon state parliament. "Our election manifesto rightly emphasizes that a good idea remains a good idea, regardless of who it comes from."

Weidinger assumes that the population also shares this conviction. "People are simply fed up with political parties only focusing on themselves or other parties." For the Free Voters, "the cause and the solution to people's problems take center stage". They see themselves as a "positive corrective in all political directions".

Weidinger recalled a slogan from Matthias Berger, Lord Mayor of Grimma and FW top candidate for the state election on September 1: "Before the election we don't talk to anyone, after the election we talk to everyone." This slogan was also not affected by the decision of the national party conference. "If we are invited to talks if we enter the state parliament, we are polite enough to accept such an invitation. We want to listen, only then can we understand." The federal association's resolution does not prohibit listening. "That would be even nicer. We are relaxed and will continue on our path in Saxony."

In the 2019 state elections, the Free Voters missed out on a place in parliament with 3.4 percent of the second votes. This year, they believe they have a better chance.