On Wednesday morning, Thuringian state parliament members Stefan Wogawa, Dirk Hoffmeister, and Roberto Kobelt announced their departure from the BSW parliamentary group and the party itself. Wogawa, who had previously served as the parliamentary manager for the BSW group, shared the news with the publication.
Wogawa cited the direction of the party leadership, including Amira Mohamed Ali, Fabio De Masi, and party founder Sahra Wagenknecht, as the reason for their decision. He told the publication that the “permanent destructive interventions from the federal board are unbearable,” stating that their work was being publicly criticized and placed under general suspicion, as the leadership constantly attempted to interfere.
The Wagenknecht-led party is currently struggling with a major crisis. This is largely due to ongoing criticism from the party leadership-Mohamed Ali, De Masi, and Wagenknecht-regarding the “Blackberry” coalition in Thuringia, a coalition that is supported by Finance Minister and BSW state leader Katja Wolf.
These three representatives stressed that their resignation was not intended to weaken the “Blackberry” coalition. Instead, they wish to remain a constructive force within the Thuringian State Parliament. To achieve this, they plan to found a new parliamentary group and a new party called “Deine Stimme zählt” (Your Voice Counts), emphasizing that they are open to discussions with the existing “Blackberry” factions.
Furthermore, the representatives criticized the BSW’s stance toward the AfD. Wogawa commented to the publication that the party seemed willing to accept a governmental crisis in Saxony-Anhalt simply for a transparent campaign maneuver. He argued that Sahra Wagenknecht’s political path prioritizes being the “loudest and most populist” rather than focusing on constructive policies, which he believes cannot improve the lives of people either regionally or nationally.
The preceding government in Thuringia, composed of the CDU, BSW, and SPD, had previously matched the opposition in terms of the number of mandates.
