Formation of government: Thuringian BSW boss: sharpen position on war and peace

After criticism within the party, Thuringia’s BSW state chief Katja Wolf wants to “further sharpen” the positions on war and peace in the coalition negotiations with the CDU and SPD. She announced this after a members’ meeting in Erfurt, at which, among other things, the exploratory paper, which was controversial within the party and which the BSW had agreed with the CDU and SPD, was discussed internally. The topic should be named “very clearly” in a coalition paper in order to take into account the core brand of the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance – namely a commitment to diplomacy and peace, said Wolf.

The coalition talks are scheduled to begin at the beginning of the week. After the exchange with the members, the state chairwoman, who has recently come under great pressure, feels strengthened. Wolf spoke of a good discussion that was characterized by a high sense of responsibility. In the negotiations with the CDU and SPD about a possible government formation, the aim is now to include as much of the BSW election program as possible. At the same time, she made it clear that the discussion about the hard-won peace preamble should not be reopened: “In this respect, the preamble is through.”

Unity as the ultimate goal

BSW General Secretary Christian Leye said that they would leave the meeting in Erfurt united. “It is clear to us that we stand together as a party – even after this discussion.” After the members’ meeting, there was agreement that coalition negotiations should begin and that a coalition agreement negotiated there should more clearly bear the signature of the BSW on foreign policy, but also on national policy issues.

If such a coalition agreement is in place, “we will lay out the cards together and decide together as a party which way to go,” said Leye. “Either you go into a government as a unit, that would be good, or you go a different route as a unit, that would also be good.”

Conditions set by federal leadership

The BSW leadership around Sahra Wagenknecht had recently formulated conditions for the formation of a government in Thuringia. In a resolution published on the party’s homepage, the federal executive board called on the Thuringian BSW regional association to specify foreign policy and state policy positions in the coalition negotiations with the CDU and SPD. If this doesn’t work, they should go into opposition, it was said.

The Thuringian BSW had agreed with the CDU and SPD on a formula compromise in the preamble, in which the differences between the parties in dealing with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine became clear. Unlike a similar agreement in Brandenburg, where the BSW only had to negotiate with the SPD, in Thuringia the parties not only have different positions on arms deliveries to Ukraine. There is even no criticism of possible US missiles in Germany by the possible coalition partners. Instead, it is said that many citizens view this critically.

Wagenknecht himself had described the Thuringian compromise paper as a mistake. Even before the official agreement, she insisted on a preamble that called for more diplomacy to end the war instead of arms deliveries to the attacked Ukraine and spoke out against the planned stationing of US missiles in Germany to deter Russia.

Regarding the strong criticism of the past few days, Wolf said she would have liked to have talked to each other more. “The BSW is an important political project, the BSW is my political project, and I won’t allow myself to be divided.”