The federal leadership of the BSW currently wants to leave no doubt that they have the base on their side. After calling on the Thuringian regional association to break the coalition a week ago, federal chairman Fabio De Masi expressed the hope that the pressure from the Thuringian members would bring the regional association to give in. Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht also explained that large parts of the Thuringian BSW wanted a non-partisan prime minister. Is that correct?
“The opponents of the government coalition express themselves very often, very loudly and supposedly in a public manner, but no clear majority can be derived from this,” says Jens Zöllner, BSW district chairman in Erfurt-Sömmerda. On the contrary: he hears approval not only from his district associations but also from other district associations to continue the coalition with the CDU and SPD, as he says. Zöllner is part of the BSW state board, which has its office in Erfurt's old town. An incredible number of encouraging letters from citizens are currently arriving there, said Zöllner. “This alone is an incentive to continue on the constructive path in Thuringia.”
The co-chairman of the district association, Matthias Herzog, sees it similarly. He also represents the BSW in the state parliament, where he is deputy parliamentary group leader. As a member of parliament, he knows that he might be approached more often by people who support their work in parliament. And yet, through conversations with members, he paints a different picture than that of the Berlin Federal Executive Board: he perceives “clear support” for continuing to participate in government.
“That makes us as a party untrustworthy”
Nevertheless, according to their own information, their district association applied for a special party conference on Friday. But not to discuss a coalition break, as Herzog emphasizes. They are concerned with fundamental issues in the party: such as greater separation of central party and government offices. Or how we interact with one another, which often becomes unobjective and personal on internal communication platforms. But the relationship with the federal executive board should also be discussed: open-ended, as Herzog says.
The Altenburg-Gera-Greiz district association has already had a feeling for this. At a general meeting there was a detailed discussion about the federal leadership's initiative, reports Daniel Riedel, district chairman and state board member. The members then supported the work of the Thuringian BSW. Instead of fighting within the party, it would be better to return to factual issues, says Riedel.
Kerstin Kurze also thinks that it is exhausting. She chairs the BSW Gotha district association. It is not well received there that the federal leadership wants to “impose” a coalition break on them, said Kurze. When she is spoken to, she often hears the desire for the problems in Thuringia to be taken care of, and that is what the government is responsible for. Of course, not everything goes perfectly there, says Kurze. “But we’re doing pretty well.” Leaving now also sends a signal of unreliability. Who else should work with you in the future? “That makes us as a party untrustworthy.”
Four district associations want a special party conference
The BSW has almost 600 members and 13 district associations across the country. After the state parliamentary group decided on Monday - with two abstentions - to oppose the federal executive committee and remain part of the blackberry coalition, four district associations jointly submitted an application for a special party conference. Because they thought the group's decision was wrong?
“So far in the coalition we have actually only paid extra,” says Volkmar Dietzel. He chairs the Unstrut-Hainich district association, which, together with three other district associations, called for a special party conference. According to Dietzel, there is a unanimous opinion among them: the BSW needs to become more critical in the coalition. He was against his party's participation in government from the start, even before it had even joined the coalition. Dietzel does not see any real successes from the alliance with the CDU and SPD. The motto of the state BSW has always been: no business as usual. “We’re not a bit different now.”
Dietzel does not believe that the Federal Executive Board's initiative is really based on the plagiarism allegations against Prime Minister Mario Voigt (CDU). This was simply used as an opportunity to call for a break in the coalition.
He currently believes that Wagenknecht's idea of a non-partisan prime minister is hardly feasible - he doesn't know who should be considered for the position. However, Dietzel finds the party founder's demand that the AfD no longer be “excluded,” as she puts it, fundamentally correct. If you can't ban the AfD, you have to “bite the bullet” and – as difficult as that is – “deal with them”. He would like the state association to accommodate the federal leadership at the special party conference. According to Dietzel, the suggestion for the extraordinary party conference came from the federal leadership - it was taken up.
The district chairman clearly sees two camps in Thuringia: that of Sahra Wagenknecht and that of the state chairmen Katja Wolf and Steffen Schütz. “That gives some people the feeling that they are in two different parties,” said Dietzel. However, there seems to be a cross-campaign consensus on at least one point: the other district associations also say that the dispute is anything but helpful for political work.
