Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht: Wagenknecht loses BSW power struggle – Wolf stays in office

The week-long power struggle for the occupation of the Thuringian BSW party leadership has been decided: Thuringia’s Vice-Ministers President Katja Wolf, who is the BSW face in Germany’s only blackberry coalition with the CDU and SPD, remains state chief. The 49-year-old won a martial candidacy against the state parliament member Anke Wirsing supported by party founder Sahra Wagenknecht at a party congress in Gera.

Shortly before the party congress, Wagenknecht had requested a “reorganization of the state board” and the separation of the government and party office in a letter to the members – and thus made the front against wolf.

Wolf clearly before Wagenknecht’s candidate

With it, Wagenknecht has been a coalition agreement in the clinch since the Thuringian BSW government participation and the discussion about a peace presentation. The accusation: they watered BSW positions. Wolf’s pragmatic political style, which, according to one of the largest BSW election successes last autumn, enabled the young party to participate in the government with 15.8 percent last autumn, is also criticized by some Thuringian members.

It is about “pressing through BSW positions in the government” and “regaining people who have lost trust in politics,” said Wolf in her application speech. The former mayor of Eisenach received 61 votes when voting in Gera. The savoy cabbage that had so far hardly appeared in state politics, which sees herself as a Wagenknecht supporter, received 35 votes. In Gera, the Thuringian BSW members discussed an office separation in the future – however, the corresponding applications were not coordinated.

So far, the Thuringian party leadership consisted of two government members, Wolf is finance minister. Co-boss Steffen Schütz, who is Minister of Infrastructure, did not compete in the new election. Quasi as a compromise offer, he made the space available for a representative of the base. The musician Gernot Süßmuth became the new co-chair. The 62-year-old, the concert champion of the Weimar Staatskapelle, received 63 votes.

General Secretary: “Don’t cut tablecloth”

BSW General Secretary Christian Leye said after the decision for Wolf from the German Press Agency: “We would have found another decision smarter.” Wagenknecht and he was concerned with the separation of the government and party office in Thuringia. But: “The tablecloth is not cut with the Thuringian decision. We were and are under discussion,” said Leye. The decision for Wolf was democratically.

According to Leye, the new Thuringian state board must now deliver and show that he regains the trust of potential voters, provides the party structure and critically accompanies government work.

The decision about the BSW tip had also been persecuted by the Thuringian coalition partners. A choice of Wirsing, which describes herself as a car ranger, might have had an impact on the fragile government coalition. With 44 out of 88 votes, it has no majority in the state parliament.

Criticism of acting the federal board

Leye said in his party congress speech that BSW voters outside Thuringia also had a critical view of the Thuringian government participation. “You are a special responsibility for our entire party.” The federal executive board does not question the BSW’s participation in the government. “There is no government in Thuringia, regardless of the outcome of the board election.” Leye announced that members should be accepted faster in the future. Thuringia urges the responsibility to give the state associations.

Thuringia’s previous co-state chief Schütz criticized the acting of the federal board. If only he knew, “what is good and right, it has a daunting”. He described it as false and unfair to make the Thuringian State Association responsible for the failure in the Bundestag election. After his speech, some party members kept a banner with the inscription “Welcome to the Free State”.