The conflict over the BSW party’s involvement in the Thuringian government between the state association and founder Sahra Wagenknecht continues to escalate, according to internal documents reported by “Bild.”
The state association accuses Wagenknecht of undermining cooperation with the CDU, prioritizing her personal power interests over those of the state. In response, Wagenknecht is said to accuse her Thuringian colleagues of straying too far from the party line and failing to clearly differentiate their stance from the CDU.
Previously, Björn Höcke, the AfD boss of Thuringia, offered Wagenknecht the position of Minister President. While she declined the offer, she did not reject the political direction. Furthermore, she has urged her Thuringian state association to dissolve the coalition with the CDU and SPD, paving the way for a non-partisan Minister President. Concurrently, she has offered cooperation to the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt.
Internal dissent is also growing within the BSW. Steffen Schütz, the Digital Minister of Thuringia, publicly expressed his disagreement with Wagenknecht’s course. In a social media post, he labeled the party leadership as “enablers of the AfD” and criticized the current trajectory as “highly dangerous,” arguing it no longer aligns with the party’s original goals. Despite concerns surrounding Minister President Mario Voigt’s doctoral credentials, Schütz continues to trust Voigt’s integrity.
Wagenknecht reacted to these criticisms by targeting parts of the Thuringian state parliament faction. According to “Bild,” she accused some MPs of caring more about their mandates than the party’s political goals. At the same time, she pointed to growing pressure from the party base to abandon the coalition. Underlying this political upheaval is the question of whether BSW ministers could lose their positions if they dissolved the coalition before completing their two-year term, which could endanger their entitlement to a severance package.
