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🇪🇸 Spain /Elections & Politics

BSW, the German party that calls itself left-wing but is ready to work with AfD to survive

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Ongoing story
  • BSW candidate Claudia Wittig and AfD leader Alice Weidel publicly exchanged praise and expressed willingness to cooperate after elections in Saxony-Anhalt.
  • Although BSW presents itself as a conservative-left party, it advocates sharply restricting migration and ending Germany’s traditional Western alliances in favor of closer ties with Russia.
  • BSW’s positions could give the far-right AfD a path to govern in Saxony-Anhalt, where the party may hold the balance of power.

The warm exchange between Claudia Wittig and Alice Weidel became one of the most striking moments of election night in Magdeburg. Smiling and praising one another during a joint interview on public television, the two politicians signaled a willingness to cooperate despite representing parties that appear to occupy opposite ends of Germany’s political spectrum.

Wittig ran for the nationalist-populist Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, or BSW, in Saxony-Anhalt. Weidel leads the far-right AfD, which made major gains at the polls. Their common ground could now give the AfD a route to power in the state, with BSW potentially holding the key to forming a government.

conservative left

· Sahra WagenknechtThe label Wagenknecht used when presenting BSW’s political identity.

BSW was founded in 2024 by Sahra Wagenknecht after she broke with the post-communist Die Linke. Wagenknecht presented the party as “conservative left,” but its critics place it in a hybrid space between socialism and the radical right. Restricting migration is one of its founding priorities. The party also advocates breaking with Germany’s traditional alliances with Western powers and moving closer to Russia. BSW and AfD are described as among Western Europe’s parties most aligned with the Kremlin.

The capacity of society to accommodate and integrate refugees is limited. It is essential to protect the local population.

· BSW program in Saxony-AnhaltThe program explains the party’s position on migration.

Wittig said the two parties share the same strategy for tackling high energy costs: resuming purchases of Russian gas. BSW also makes opposition to German support for Ukraine and to the country’s military buildup central to its campaigns in Saxony-Anhalt and in upcoming elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin.

Migration is the other major pillar. BSW’s program for Saxony-Anhalt calls for strict limits on the arrival of foreigners and systematic deportations where asylum rights do not exist, asylum abuse is suspected or migrants commit crimes. The party performed well in Saxony and Thuringia in 2024, particularly in eastern Germany, where Wagenknecht’s background and broader social dissatisfaction have strengthened support for anti-establishment forces.

The state’s ability to act must be credible and visible. This includes systematic deportation when there is no right to asylum, when abuse of asylum is suspected or when migrants commit crimes.

· BSW program in Saxony-AnhaltThe program sets out its proposed approach to asylum and deportation.
About this summary

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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