Does BSW ally with AfD?
The leader of the BSW party, Sarah Wagenknecht, expressed her openness to conducting political talks with the AfD party at the federal level, but she clarified that there are currently no negotiations, describing what is being raised in this context as a "phantom discussion." She confirmed that if there is a clear reason, as happened in the state of Thuringia, she would not mind engaging in dialogue with the leader of the AfD party, Tino Chrupalla.
Tschrobal had expressed his support for conducting nationwide talks with the BSW party, noting that such dialogues are already underway and address issues that concern the German public and ways to change the balance of political power. In Thüringen, the parliamentary group leader of the BSW party, Frank Augustin, met with the AfD group leader, Björn Höcke, in a two-hour conversation, during which they discussed the crisis of forming judicial bodies in the state, in addition to other local political files. It is worth mentioning that the AfD branch in Thüringen is classified by the state's constitutional protection agency as a 'confirmed right-wing extremist' entity.
The BSW party is participating in the local government in Thüringen as part of a coalition that includes CDU and SPD, and traditional parties, especially SPD, have called for avoiding any future meetings with AfD. Tschirner defended the dialogue, stating that these meetings reflect the "desire of the voters," as AfD is considered the strongest party in the state, but is excluded by other political forces.
Sarah Wagenknecht has been calling for normalizing relations with AfD for some time, considering that the refusal to engage in dialogue with it and its marginalization represents a "slap in the face of voters," and has increased its popularity instead of weakening it. She confirmed that AfD now enjoys the support of more than one-fifth of voters. On the other hand, the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens, and Die Linke parties refuse any political cooperation with AfD, considering that its positions and goals cannot be reconciled with their policies. AfD has also failed to secure a majority to support its candidates for parliamentary positions, such as the Deputy Speaker of the Federal Parliament.
BSW faced widespread criticism after its meetings with AfD, with a politician from SPD describing the cooperation between the two parties as a "cursed alliance". Heidi Reichinick, the leader of the Left Party faction, strongly attacked her party's former leader, stating that "talking or cooperating with a far-right party is unacceptable, even if the motivation is to return to the media spotlight."
When asked about the possibility of an alliance between her party and AfD after the Saxony-Anhalt elections in 2026, Wagenknecht categorically denied it, explaining that BSW cannot be a minor partner to a party like AfD due to significant differences between the two sides, especially in social issues.
Despite the disagreements, the two parties intersect on some points, such as calling for a strict peace policy and stopping irregular immigration. Both parties also supported a proposal in the European Parliament to withdraw confidence from the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The BSW party did not succeed in entering the German parliament in the elections last February, receiving 4.981% of the votes, below the minimum required threshold of 5%. Therefore, any current dialogues between BSW and AfD do not affect the balance of power within the current parliament.