BSW and AfD – a political love-hate relationship in Germany

BSW and AfD – a political love-hate relationship in Germany September 8, 2026Following the election in Saxony-Anhalt, there is no clear governing coalition because the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) with its 44% share of the vote has fallen just short of securing an absolute majority. That means the formation of a new government in one of Germany's 16 federal states is more difficult than ever. This is also partly due to the success that the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), which was founded only in 2024, has managed to achieve. Wagenknecht, a trained economist, was a longtime member of the socialist Left Party, formerly a communist who over time has distanced herself further from her political roots. Her party does not conform to traditional labels. Many people can no longer relate much to labels like "left" or "right," she says. From the very beginning, Wagenknecht also showed no reluctance to engage with the AfD. Her long-held credo has been that the party includes people who are treated unfairly if labeled as Nazis. Now, Sahra Wagenknecht and her followers are working towards seeking common ground with the AfD and can even imagine helping the party's lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund into the role of state premier by abstaining from the vote. Wagenknecht mentioned this scenario before the September 6 election. Both AfD and BSW oppose 'uncontrolled migration' A few days before the vote, Sahra Wagenknecht spoke on TV broadcaster ntv about overlapping policy preferences of BSW and AfD voters: "These are people who have similar concerns: They want controlled migration, they do not want this uncontrolled migration and they want above all that politics is again conducted in their interests, that their lives are the focus." However, there is also a significant degree of agreement on issues other than German immigration policy: both parties call for an end to German arms deliveries to Ukraine, which has been attacked by Russia in violation of international law. Or they claim that freedom of speech no longer exists in Germany. Whether the BSW will actually team up with the AfD remains completely open. AfD lead candidate Siegmund emphasized even before the election that he intended to govern only with an absolute majority of his own. When the BSW was founded in January 2024, it had a spectacular start: Formed as a splinter party from the socialist Left, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was swiftly elected to the European Parliament and in the same year received double-digit results in three state parliament elections. In the eastern German states of Brandenburg and Thuringia, the party entered straight into government coalitions. That would also have been possible in Saxony, but coalition negotiations with the CDU and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) failed. The BSW favors a tough approach to refugees. It opposes any form of military support, whether for Ukraine or for Israel. The BSW advocates for an end to German weapons deliveries to Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia in breach of international law. The party's leader, economist Sahra Wagenknecht, who grew up in communist East Germany, aligned her new political home beyond traditional classifications. She repeatedly states that many people can no longer relate to labels like "left" or "right" wing. Wagenknecht has also had no reservations about contact with the AfD from the beginning. As early as 2023, she stated that some people within the party were being labeled Nazis unfairly. From rising star to struggling party However, the BSW in Saxony-Anhalt has ruled out a classic coalition. Following elections in Brandenburg and Thuringia in 2024, the branches in those states went against the stated will of their founder and joined governments alongside established parties. The permanent conflict between the federal leadership of the party and its state branches led to the breakdown of the coalition with the Social Democrats in Brandenburg, starting in 2025. In Thuringia, led by a coalition of the CDU, SPD and BSW, most of the BSW lawmakers declared that they were leaving the party two days before the election in Saxony-Anhalt. However, they wanted to remain a part of the CDU-led state government. "We have not been elected to tolerate flirts with right-wing radicals," is how Finance Minister Katja Wolf explained this decision, referring to the rapprochement with the AfD initiated by Wagenknecht. The BSW's success in Saxony-Anhalt and accompanying key role in the formation of the government has given the party, at least for the moment, a largely unexpected significance. This is because during the Bundestag federal election of 2025 the BSW narrowly failed to reach the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament and, also due to its many internal conflicts, it seemed to have little credibility among the population. Furthermore, its figurehead Sahra Wagenknecht has stepped back from the leadership of her party and is no longer running for its chairmanship. She continues to exert her influence in the background, though, and is a drawcard at BSW rallies, especially during election campaigns. Boost for upcoming state elections? Following their successful entry into Saxony-Anhalt's parliament, which according to pre-election polls was by no means guaranteed, Wagenknecht responded confidently: "The BSW's comeback has begun," she told German news agency dpa. How sustainable this upswing is will be revealed on September 20, when parliamentary elections will be held in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the city-state of Berlin. This article was translated from German.