Following the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, the BSW has underlined its willingness to hold talks with the AfD and its top candidate, Ulrich Siegmund. "The AfD is the winner of the election, and the AfD must form the government," BSW top candidate Thomas Schulze said on Monday on Deutschlandfunk. The BSW would seek an exchange with all parties in order to push through its own policy positions, he said. He sees an initial overlap in substance with the AfD in the demand for lifting the sanctions against Russia.
Schulze also reaffirmed the BSW's intention to clear the way for Siegmund to become state premier by abstaining in any third round of voting in the state parliament. If it comes to a third ballot, "then we will also stick to what we have said, that we will abstain at that point." Schulze made clear in addition that the BSW would not take part in any "firewall coalition."
Forming a majority in Saxony-Anhalt is likely to prove complicated. According to the preliminary result, the AfD won 43.8 percent, but fell short of an absolute majority. The CDU, the Greens, the SPD, the Left and the BSW also entered the state parliament. With the exception of the BSW, however, all parties have so far ruled out cooperation with the AfD, which Saxony-Anhalt's state office for the protection of the constitution has classified as confirmed right-wing extremist.
Siegmund says he wants to govern only with a majority of his own, which would rule out the theoretically conceivable scenario of a minority government tolerated by the BSW, for example. For the election of the state premier, the state constitution requires only a simple majority in a possible third ballot. Siegmund could therefore come to power even without a majority of his own. The AfD would nevertheless still have to organise majorities in the state parliament for its decisions later on.
With a view to the talks now presumably due in Magdeburg, the BSW expects the first steps to come from the AfD, according to Schulze. The AfD is the winner of the election, he said. His party therefore assumes that the AfD will "rather" approach the BSW than the other way round. The BSW does not see itself as an "enabler," Schulze added. "That, for me, is democracy."
More generally, according to the candidate, the BSW in Saxony-Anhalt continues to pursue the idea of a "non-partisan state premier" who would govern with shifting majorities and with the involvement of all parties, including the AfD. His party has candidates "in mind" for this and will name names "shortly," Schulze said on Deutschlandfunk. It should if possible be a figure from Saxony-Anhalt. However, the BSW's federal and state executive boards would first discuss this "calmly," he said.
Watch our video to see how the Saxony-Anhalt election results translate into seats and what the numbers could mean for government formation.
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