Eastern German state Thuringia's new gov't to include pro-Russia party BSW
MDR / dpa
Three parties have agreed to form a coalition in Germany's eastern state of Thuringia following elections in September. The Christian Democrats (CDU), Social Democrats (SPD) and the new nationalist-left party Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) planned to present their coalition agreement on Friday afternoon, following weeks of negotiations, public broadcaster MDR reported. Agreements now reflect the pro-Russian BSW positions more closely, according to party founder Sahra Wagenknecht, MDR reported.
Together, the parties would control 44 out of the 88 seats in the state's parliament, meaning they would have to rely on at least one vote from the opposition – the Left party or the Alternative for Germany (AfD) – when making decisions. Before the new Thuringian government is formed, however, the party committees still have to give their approval.
Meanwhile, the SPD has entered coalition talks with the BSW in the state of Brandenburg, home to carmaker Tesla's Gigafactory. As a result, Brandenburg's economy minister Jörg Steinbach from the SPD has stepped down from his position, regardless of the possible outcome of the coalition negotiations. "I do not see any basis for a trusting cooperation, particularly because of the positions represented by the party leadership," he said.
Despite not running in Brandenburg's election, BSW leader Sarah Wagenknecht said she would personally work towards re-establishing the supply with Russian oil to the Schwedt refinery in the eastern German state, news agency dpa reported. This would be better than having to "exhaustingly and expensively beg for oil" elsewhere, she argued. Oil supplies to the refinerey were stopped due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, chancellor Olaf Scholz and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk agreed on a reliable supply of oil to Poland from the refinery.
In the state of Saxony, the CDU and SPD have started coalition negotiations. They would, however, only be able to form a minority government.
Populists parties saw big gains in all eastern German state elections in September. The far-right party AfD scored its first ever state election win in eastern Thuringia and came a close second in Brandenburg and Saxony. The results left the states facing difficult coalition negotiations, as mainstream parties have ruled out cooperation with the AfD.
The AfD and the nationalist-left BSW – while hailing from different ends of the political spectrum – share strikingly similar positions in a wide range of policy areas, notably regarding their rejection of immigration, opposition to the government's climate action and energy transition policy, and their softer approach towards Russia’s regime under Vladimir Putin.
Germany is gearing up to go to the polls on 23 February 2025, seven months earlier than initially planned following the collapse of Olaf Scholz's "traffic light" coalition.
