BSW in Saxony-Anhalt: When in doubt, back the AfD

Thomas Schulze has held a string of very different jobs, from cook and unfinished business student to civil servant, prison director and head of a reception center for asylum seekers. Now, as the BSW’s lead candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, he faces a question that could shape the state’s political future: would his party help the AfD take power?

Schulze has danced around the question with emphatic language but no clear answer. The AfD’s top candidate is Ulrich Siegmund, and the possibility of the BSW voting him into the office of state premier hangs over the election.

The BSW rejects a coalition with the CDU. It also rejects a firewall against the political right, leaving open a path that could benefit the AfD. The uncertainty has made the party’s position central to the government-formation debate.

Early projections put the BSW close to the 5% electoral threshold, with its figures becoming more stable as the evening progressed. Whether the party clears that threshold could determine not only whether it enters the state parliament, but also what role it plays after the election. For the first time in German federal history, the question is whether a state branch classified as firmly far-right could reach power.