Saxony-Anhalt: Wagenknecht open to cooperation with AfD, but rejects some of its positions

Sahra Wagenknecht has opened the door to cooperation between her BSW party and the AfD after the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, while drawing a firm line at positions she rejects.

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We do joint politics with anyone who is prepared to implement the changes people in our country want.

"We do joint politics with anyone who is prepared to implement the changes people in our country want," Wagenknecht said on ZDF's heute journal. She immediately qualified that position, saying the AfD program contains several positions the BSW does not share. On those issues, she said, there would be "clear resistance" rather than support.

Wagenknecht also renewed her proposal for a non-party minister-president who could command respect beyond party lines and represent a political new beginning. She said the invitation to discuss that model also applied to the AfD.

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Of course, there are a number of positions in the AfD program that we do not share. And there will be no support for them, but clear resistance.

AfD leader Tino Chrupalla rejected the proposal on ZDF's Lanz. For the AfD, he said, "there can only be one minister-president, Ulrich Siegmund." The party would not accept a change of candidate or follow a party that won just under 6%, he said. Chrupalla also ruled out governing through changing majorities, saying the AfD needed a stable majority.

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There can only be one minister-president, Ulrich Siegmund.

Wagenknecht suggested that Siegmund might instead seek support from CDU lawmakers. The BSW narrowly cleared the 5% threshold, while the AfD won 43.8%. Before the election, Wagenknecht had ruled out a coalition with the AfD but left open the possibility of cooperation on individual issues.

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We need a stable majority, of course. And that cannot be achieved with changing majorities. We will not agree to such models.