Overview

• Carsten Schneider made the appeal in a June 28 interview with Funke Medien Thüringen newspapers.
• Schneider argued that if Thuringia only abstains on key Bundesrat votes, it cannot contribute to shaping national policy.
• The BSW joined the CDU–SPD coalition in Thuringia last December and has twice abstained on a multi-billion-euro federal financial package because of its defense spending provisions.
• Drawing on his experience as the former Eastern Germany commissioner and now federal environment minister, Schneider stressed the need for give-and-take to achieve state objectives.
• He called on the Wagenknecht-founded party to adopt a more cooperative, federal-oriented stance to secure Thuringia’s interests in Berlin.