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Sahra Wagenknecht: The first BWS regional association was founded on Saturday in Saxony
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Markus Schreiber / AP
Before the elections in East Germany, Sahra Wagenknecht spoke about possible coalitions.
In an interview with the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” (“FAS”), she did not want to rule out collaboration with the CDU.
After the elections, the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) will enter into talks, "certainly also with the CDU," she said.
The statements were received cautiously in the CDU.
"So far we don't know what specific content BSW stands for," said Saxon Bundestag member Christiane Schenderlein to the "Tagesspiegel".
It is therefore not yet possible to say “whether alliances or cooperation of any kind would be conceivable or not.”
"Ms. Wagenknecht understands her business model and knows that she has to offer supposed voters a power option that she cannot find after her break with the left," said the former Thuringian CDU state chairman Mike Mohring to the "Tagesspiegel".
He warned against "succumbing to Wagenknecht's charm offensive at the first wink."
In an interview with “FAS”, Wagenknecht also recalled that the CDU in Thuringia had repeatedly submitted proposals to the state parliament, which the AfD then approved.
For her, this is “a normal democratic process”.
Alice Weidel “does not represent right-wing extremist positions”
Wagenknecht leaves open the question of cooperation with the right-wing populist AfD.
The only thing that matters to her is “whether a demand is right or wrong,” she said.
BSW will not work “with extremists.”
The Thuringian AfD state leader Björn Höcke is “a right-wing radical.
We do not have anything to do with that".
On the other hand, AfD federal chairwoman Alice Weidel “does not represent right-wing extremist positions, but rather conservative, economically liberal ones.”
The only thing that matters to them is “whether a demand is right or wrong,” said Wagenknecht, thereby rejecting a “firewall” for the AfD.
AfD voters are also “the vast majority not right-wing radicals” but are “rightly outraged by out-of-touch politicians.”
The BSW, which emerged from a split from the Left Party, wants to run in the European elections and the state elections in the fall in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg.
The party's first regional association was founded in Saxony on Saturday.
A Thuringian regional association is to follow in March; no date was initially known for Brandenburg.
The party was founded at the federal level at the beginning of January.
The chairmen are the namesake Wagenknecht and the former left-wing parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Amira Mohamed Ali.
asc/AFP