Sahra Wagenknecht, the founder of the BSW party, has rejected an offer made by Björn Höcke, the head of the AfD in Thuringia, to be elected as the Minister President of the Free State. In a statement, Wagenknecht stressed that the position of Minister President of Thuringia is not a “trophy” that Höcke can arbitrarily bestow.
While the incumbent Minister President, Mario Voigt (CDU), has lost public trust due to plagiarism allegations, and the trust of the Thuringian BSW party has been withdrawn from him, she deemed Höcke’s proposal neither honest nor credible. She argued that the offer was dishonest because Höcke knows that the majority of BSW members in the state parliament are in opposition to the federal party leadership and would not vote for him.
Furthermore, Wagenknecht does not view taking office as a genuine solution. She holds that an impartial Minister President, rooted in the local community, is required, noting that she only spent her childhood in Thuringia. She criticized Höcke’s approach, stating that he politicizes in the same manner as older parties, where “partisan maneuvering and the pursuit of effect overshadow problem-solving.” She insists that her party aims to end this “dishonest form” of politics and the “delusion of the brand wall.” She pointed out that if Höcke’s colleague Siegmund declares that he would rather give the position of Minister President to the CDU rather than having it with an absolute AfD majority in Saxony-Anhalt, this, while seemingly contrasting with Höcke’s offer, follows the same logic: the party comes before the state.
Wagenknecht introduced a counter-proposal, stating that her party is ready to engage in discussions with the AfD and all other parties regarding a cross-partisan Minister President and key political priorities in both Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Additionally, she called for a “public duel” with Höcke, which she proposes take place on neutral ground with an impartial moderator. In such a debate, she suggested they could discuss the BSW’s proposal for a cross-partisan leader, potential solutions to the current economic crisis and German educational woes, or why Höcke supported the AfD’s trans-Atlantic wing during the last party congress.
