Overview
- Earlier this week Sahra Wagenknecht publicly acknowledged mistakes in BSW's early government entry and strict membership rules, and her criticism of the Thuringian leadership was followed by three MPs leaving the party and its parliamentary group.
- The departures convert the Brombeer coalition in Erfurt into a true minority government, making it more likely that the CDU‑BSW‑SPD alliance can be outvoted and that routine legislation will face greater instability.
- Wagenknecht has urged BSW in Thuringia to withdraw support for CDU minister‑president Mario Voigt, citing the revocation of his doctorate as a reason officials there should reconsider their backing.
- Polls show BSW under the 5 percent threshold in the upcoming eastern state votes, the party says it will not join new state governments, and Wagenknecht signalled selective cooperation with the AfD on specific policy votes while ruling out formal coalitions.
- BSW has proposed veteran journalist Gabriele Krone‑Schmalz as a candidate for Bundespräsident if the party wins a seat in Saxony‑Anhalt, a move that would expand the party's federal influence but risks controversy because of Krone‑Schmalz's past Russia‑sympathetic positions.