CDU, SPD, and pro-Russian BSW explored large coalitions in Thuringia and Saxony

The pro-Russian populist-left BSW party participated in negotiations to form a coalition on the local level in Germany’s states Thuringia and Saxony.

Coalition talks in Thuringia

In Thuringia, Germany, the CDU, Sarah Wagenknecht’s Alliance (BSW), and the Social Democrats (SPD) have summarized the outcome of negotiations on the possibility of forming a large coalition.

According to Tagesschau, in the final position paper, the Christian Democratic Union, the Social Democratic Party, and the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance outlined their positions and topics for discussion when they decide to start coalition talks.

However, afterwards, the pro-Russian BSW party stated that they wanted to renegotiate the so-called “peace preamble” and that this would be their prerequisite for launching coalition talks. 

Now, the joint document only states that the parties “will leave room for discussion of the topic of peace in Europe in future negotiations and will pay attention to it together.”

The local leader of the alliance, Katja Wolf (formerly a member of the Left, like Sahra Wagenknecht), said that leaving the topic of war out of the final document on the talks was “unacceptable.”

Another co-leader, Seffen Schütz, said that they would introduce specific wording for this topic, which would refer to “more diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine” and the refusal to deploy US intermediate-range missiles in Germany.

Representatives of the pro-Russian party did not mention putting any pressure on Russia to force it to end the war, which Putin’s regime has started by invading a sovereign state.

Coalition talks in Saxony

Conservatives in Saxony, where preliminary talks also ended, supported coalition talks with Sarah Wagenknecht’s Alliance (BSW).

The executive committee of the Christian Democratic Union in Saxony has supported negotiations on forming a coalition government with the populist-left Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance, which is known for its biased position toward Ukraine.

The leader of the CDU in Saxony and regional premier Michael Kretschmer said that his party, which received the most votes in the last state elections in September, seeks a “stable government majority”, Spiegel reported.

“We will join the coalition only when we are firmly convinced that it will serve the state. Compromises will be necessary, but they should not shake the foundations of our political beliefs,” Kretschmer assured.

Earlier, dozens of CDU politicians spoke out against the alliance with Sarah Wagenknecht’s party, pointing in particular to its pro-Russian position on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Notably, this party opposed military aid to Ukraine and criticized sanctions against Russia.

The Social Democratic Party and Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance have also spoken in favor of starting coalition talks in Saxony.

They made this decision following multiple rounds of “exploratory talks,” culminating this week in the creation of a position paper. In the document, the potential coalition partners outlined areas of agreement, controversial issues, and points that still need further clarification.

Local elections results

In the state elections in Saxony on September 1, the Christian Democratic Union became the largest party with 31.9% of the vote, ahead of the far-right Alternative for Germany (30.6%).

Since the CDU categorically rules out an alliance with the AfD, only an alliance between the CDU, the Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (11.8%), and the Social Democrats (7.3%) could provide a potential coalition with a majority.

As the German election results show, pro-Russian forces have strengthened their positions on two flanks: the right-wing radical AfD has pushed the conservatives on the right, and the left-wing populist party of Sarah Wagenknecht’s Alliance has pushed the Social Democrats on the left. As a result, this pro-Russian force is very likely to join a coalition at the local level in Germany.