Particle.news
Download on the App Store

BSW Leadership Still Unsettled After Berlin Retreat

A pending recount ruling could deliver BSW seats and strip the governing coalition of its majority.

Overview

  • Sahra Wagenknecht skipped the two‑day strategy meeting due to a reported relapse of illness, and she has not said whether she will seek the chair again, though a spokesperson says she will stay in a leading role.
  • The board plans to unveil a full personnel proposal this week, with final votes at the early‑December party congress in Magdeburg to elect a new leadership and decide a new name that retains the BSW initials.
  • Leaders say about 3,000 name suggestions were submitted and roughly 30 remain under consideration, with a final proposal to be put to delegates requiring a two‑thirds majority.
  • A draft platform positions BSW as a peace party calling to end weapons deliveries to Ukraine, roll back rising defense spending, resume pipeline energy from Russia, reject an across‑the‑board AfD firewall, and consider expert-led governments.
  • Wagenknecht and co‑chair Amira Mohamed Ali have pressed Bundestag President Julia Klöckner for a swift recount decision, warning they will return to the Constitutional Court, as BSW—about 9,500 votes short of 5%—argues a recount could change the Bundestag arithmetic.