Overview
- BSW MPs and officials attended a closed reception hosted by the radical‑right magazine Compact where AfD leaders, Compact figures and several named BSW representatives were photographed together.
- The publication of the photos triggered a sharp public dispute inside the party, with BSW leader Fabio De Masi warning that any impression of a privileged partnership must not arise.
- Deputy leader Christian Leye and the BSW North Rhine‑Westphalia association condemned the meeting as unacceptable, while some attendees such as Claudia Wittig defended social contact and later called staying for the dinner a mistake.
- The dinner came two days after the BSW in Sachsen‑Anhalt helped secure an AfD member as Landtag president, a recent parliamentary move that already left many in the party uneasy.
- The episode risks deepening existing splits in the young Wagenknecht party, could prompt more regional defections and raises reputational questions because Compact has been legally described as taking positions that violate human dignity in parts.