“That Is Democracy”: BSW Ready to Help AfD Become State Premier

The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance has reaffirmed that it could help AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund become minister-president of Saxony-Anhalt by abstaining in a third round of voting.

BSW lead candidate Thomas Schulze said on Monday that his party would maintain that position if Siegmund stood for election. The party won 5.3 percent in Sunday’s state election, narrowly clearing the threshold for entry into the state parliament.

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We have always said that we will not take part in a firewall policy.

“We have always said that we will not take part in a firewall policy,” Schulze told Deutschlandfunk. He was referring to the established parties’ strategy of refusing cooperation with the AfD and denying it political participation. The BSW, he said, wanted to talk to all parties.

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I see the AfD as a party that was voted for by 44 percent of the people here. And I have to take that into account. That is democracy.

Schulze rejected the accusation that his party would serve as a “stepping stone” for the AfD. “I see the AfD as a party that was voted for by 44 percent of the people here. And I have to take that into account. That is democracy,” he said. He identified common ground with the AfD, including a demand to lift sanctions against Russia.

BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht also indicated that her party was ready to work with the AfD on a range of issues in Magdeburg. She said majorities might now be possible for a change in energy policy, an end to sanctions against Russia, improved education and a fundamental reform of public broadcasting. “The firewall policy has failed,” Wagenknecht said, adding that another attempt to form a firewall coalition would insult voters. She also called for the election-losing CDU to be removed from office.

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The firewall policy has failed.