Olaf Scholz on the SPD's collaboration with Wagenknecht's BSW: "Beyond my imagination"

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Sahra Wagenknecht, in the background Chancellor Olaf Scholz (on March 20th in the Bundestag)

Photo: Tobias Schwarz / AFP

Millions of private donors, promising survey results in the East – things are currently not going badly for the new Sahra Wagenknecht alliance (BSW). However, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the party does not need to hope for cooperation with the SPD. He sees no basis for this.

“No, that exceeds my imagination,” said the Chancellor to the “Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung” in the Germany editorial network. Scholz was asked whether he thought state governments with the participation of the SPD and BSW were conceivable after the elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg.

There is absolutely nothing to suggest that the BSW is a partner for collaboration, said the Chancellor. The party has no proposals for a better future in the countries and no plan as to where Germany should head. “That’s why, in my opinion, such mental games are forbidden,” he emphasized.

Elections will take place on September 1st in Saxony and Thuringia, and on September 22nd in Brandenburg. According to surveys, the AfD is currently in the lead in all three federal states. The BSW always reaches double-digit values.

Wagenknecht and nine other members of the Bundestag left the Left Party in October. The Sahra Wagenknecht alliance was initially founded as an association to prepare the party.

Millions of married couples from East Germany

The new party is initially scheduled to compete in the European elections on June 9th. The former left-wing politician Fabio De Masi and the long-time SPD politician and former mayor of Düsseldorf Thomas Geisel are to lead the new party in the European elections.

The BSW also wants to run in the state elections in September in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg. “We are confident that we will be able to compete in all three elections with competent state lists,” said Wagenknecht in January at the founding event.

Most recently, the new party made people sit up and take notice with significant financial donations. As can be seen from a donation overview from the Bundestag, the former left-wing politician's alliance received 4.09 million euros on March 13th. All party donations of more than 50,000 euros must be reported to parliament and published.

The large donation apparently comes from the couple Lotte Salingré and Thomas Stanger from Mecklenburg. The couple had already donated almost one million euros to the BSW in January.

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