Thuringia BSW lawmakers demand former colleagues return their seats

The two remaining BSW lawmakers in Thuringia are demanding that former colleagues who left the party surrender their seats in the state parliament. Anke Wirsing and Sven Küntzel accuse them of committing “mandate theft” and betraying the voters who elected them on a BSW ticket.

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Anyone who sits in the state parliament on a BSW ticket must pursue BSW policies or clear the seat.

“Anyone who sits in the state parliament on a BSW ticket must pursue BSW policies or clear the seat,” Wirsing and Küntzel said in a press release titled “Mandate theft is voter fraud.” They argued that lawmakers who quit the party should no longer retain the mandates they won under its name.

Wirsing, a member of the BSW’s federal executive and one of the last representatives of Wagenknecht’s camp in the state parliament, warned that a group nobody elected could soon help govern Thuringia. She said its only goal was to secure parliamentary salaries and ministerial posts until the end of the legislative term.

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Mandate theft is voter fraud.

Küntzel said participation in government and the party’s “compulsive clinging to power” had badly damaged the BSW’s credibility and destroyed much of its voters’ trust. He nevertheless saw an opportunity for a fresh start for the party in Thuringia.

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Participation in government and the compulsive clinging to power have badly damaged our credibility and destroyed much of our voters’ trust.

The dispute escalated this week when 13 of the 15 BSW lawmakers announced their departure from the party. Those leaving include former state chairwoman Katja Wolf, who serves as finance minister and deputy premier, and former parliamentary group leader Sigrid Hupach. Most members of the collapsing BSW group still plan to support Voigt’s government. “We continue to stand by the coalition,” Hupach said. The coalition previously brought together the CDU, SPD and BSW.

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We continue to stand by the coalition.