The BSW party in Saxony-Anhalt has lost 21 members, which includes several individuals who held, or currently hold, leadership positions. According to the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung”, these disgruntled members issued a joint resignation letter, accusing the party leadership of having an authoritarian leadership style and growing too close to the AfD. The departing members stated, “We are leaving the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance because we want to remain true to our political convictions.”
Among those who resigned is former district vice-chair Sylvia Winkelmann-Witkowsky, who until now served as one of the two chairs of the Halle-Saalekreis district board. Additionally, district chairs Katja Wendland (Burgenlandkreis) and Harald Koch (Mansfeld-Südharz) have submitted their party documents.
The resigning members criticized the party leadership, claiming that the authoritarian style led to a lack of transparency, cronyism, and “a culture of mistrust and surveillance.” They also heavily criticized the convergence of the BSW with the AfD. Paraphrasing their concerns, they noted, “Even during the ongoing state election campaign, we perceive that the BSW is increasingly aligning itself in its language and topic selection with the AfD’s positions.”
John Lucas Dittrich, the BSW state leader, told the newspaper that no formal resignation statements had been received until now, but added, “It is good that there is now clarity.” Dittrich stated that there were “irredeemable content differences” among the signatories. He revealed that their ultimate goal in Saxony-Anhalt is to keep the CDU in power, asserting, “We advocate for a political change in Saxony-Anhalt and against the ‘brand wall’ policies of other parties.”
