The AfD won the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt with a record result. However, it is not enough for the desired sole government. Now it could come down to the BSW. The Wagenknecht party advocates for a “non-partisan prime minister” and also wants to talk to the AfD about this.
In an interview with the right-wing extremist magazine “Compact” on Monday evening, BSW top candidate Claudia Wittig gave concrete conditions for a possible candidate for the office of head of government in Magdeburg: He should “definitely not be a Wessi”. And also no one who “supports any Zionist projects.” The conversation was published on the “Compact” YouTube channel.
In the meantime, the way the Wagenknecht camp deals with “Compact” has apparently changed. Wittig gave the medium a detailed interview. Wagenknecht has now also spoken to “Compact TV”.
Wittig's appearance at a summer party organized by “Compact” had already been announced during the election campaign. She later canceled her participation. The BSW justified this with negative feedback from its own regional association and what it saw as the problematic motto of the event. At the same time, the party emphasized that it wanted to continue to seek open exchanges with AfD politicians.
“COMPACT-Magazin GmbH” is classified and monitored as right-wing extremist by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The Federal Ministry of the Interior banned the company in July 2024, but failed. The Federal Administrative Court lifted the ban in 2025.
BSW could decide on the next government
Wittig commented on the possible conditions for a Prime Minister against the background of the new majority in the state parliament. According to the preliminary final result, the AfD has 43.8 percent and 39 of the 83 seats, making it the strongest force. She is three seats short of a majority. The BSW enters the state parliament with 5.3 percent and five mandates.
The CDU, SPD, Greens and Left have ruled out working with the AfD. The BSW is the only party represented in the state parliament that explicitly keeps discussions with the AfD open.
In an interview with “Compact”, Wittig was first asked about the BSW’s electoral success. She speaks of a “political change” and that the other parties now have to move towards the BSW.
The CDU was “punished so severely,” says Wittig. "It should now be clear to the last person that you can't elect him as Prime Minister. He simply doesn't have a majority in the population."
This refers to the incumbent CDU Prime Minister Sven Schulze. The CDU achieved 17.2 percent and 15 seats in the election.
When asked whether the BSW would accept Schulze's election in the third round if a non-partisan candidate failed, Wittig replied: "I would have great difficulty with that because he is clearly no longer wanted as Prime Minister."
Schulze was “in fact” never elected at all, says Wittig. Schulze took over the office in January from Reiner Haseloff, who had been Prime Minister since 2011. The state parliament elected him head of government at that time.
“Definitely not a Wessi”
Wittig calls the model of a non-partisan Prime Minister the “way out of trouble”. Wittig does not want to name a name in an interview with “Compact”. That's part of the concept: all parties have to sit down at the table and discuss who is suitable.
Wittig is then asked whether she could at least rule out the possibility that the former Hamburg economics professor Stefan Homburg, whom the interviewer from “Compact” describes as a “neoliberal friend of Israel,” would become prime minister. “Yes, I can absolutely do that,” she says. "So first of all it definitely won't be a Wessi, I'll make that very clear. Of course we can't put anyone from West Germany in front of the Saxony-Anhalters."
And there is another “clear red line”: “It has to be someone who makes peace policy.” Therefore, “no one who supports any Zionist projects” is considered.
Wittig connects this directly with her fundamental criticism of current economic and security policy. In her opinion, “neoliberal policies” have made Germany “very vulnerable to militarization.” Savings were made everywhere, and at the same time high military spending was sold as necessary investments. “We can’t do it like that again,” says Wittig.
The background: dispute over Elbit
The formulation of the “Zionist projects” is also related to a political debate that Wittig himself led during the election campaign.
The Israeli arms company Elbit Systems could settle in Sangerhausen in the Mansfeld-Südharz district. The city is planning an industrial area there on around 130 hectares. There are up to 400 workstations in the room. The settlement would be economically significant for the structurally weak region.
An alliance of various left-wing and Israel-critical groups formed against the project. The BSW also supported the protest. The organizations involved included groups close to the anti-Semitic boycott movement BDS and Handala Leipzig. The Saxon State Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies Handala Leipzig as “proven extremist” and refers, among other things, to statements in which the Hamas terror of October 7, 2023 was glorified as “necessary Palestinian resistance”.
However, the BSW did not distance itself from the collaboration. “We have no reservations about it,” Wittig told WELT. “Radically pro-Palestinian groups are different than anti-Semitic thugs.” Boycotts and calls for sanctions are also legitimate means of non-violent resistance.
