2024-09-13 20:25:38
After the elections in Saxony and Thuringia, the CDU and SPD appeared cautiously open to talks with the BSW on “Maybrit Illner”. Much to the displeasure of the Green Party politician Katharina Dröge.
It’s okay to talk to each other – this was the motto of the CDU, SPD and BSW on Thursday evening on “Maybrit Illner”. The aim of all parties is to prevent the AfD from participating in government in Thuringia and Saxony – and there was also a broad agreement on the need for a reform of asylum law.
- Stephan Weil: Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (SPD)
- Wolfgang Bosbach: Former member of the Bundestag (CDU)
- Amira Mohamed Ali: Party leader of the BSW
- Juli Zeh: Author and lawyer
- Katharina Dröge: Green Party leader in the Bundestag
Right from the start, CDU politician Wolfgang Bosbach made it clear that there would be no coalition with the AfD. “We are in a situation where we cannot rule out anything except cooperation with the AfD. We will not do anything together with the AfD. Period. End of announcement,” said Bosbach. Things may be a little different with the second big winner of the election, the Sahra Wagenknecht coalition. “We have two incompatibility resolutions. One relates to the AfD, the other to the Left Party,” said the politician – so talks with the BSW are not ruled out, at least formally.
Bosbach was open to talks with the BSW. He put expectations or even national political significance into perspective: “It’s not about coalition negotiations. It’s essentially about whether we sit down together to see whether there are common issues.” At another point he said: “We’re acting as if we were already exchanging cabinet lists. It’s just a cautious approach to start with.”
Stephan Weil, Prime Minister of Lower Saxony from the SPD, was of a similar opinion. In a democracy, people must be able to talk to each other. “Whether it will ultimately lead to a result is a completely different question,” Weil said. For him, it is essential that government majorities can be found in Thuringia and Saxony that will maintain the firewall: “Michael Kretschmer and Mr. Voigt in Thuringia now have a task, namely to put together a majority capable of governing beyond the AfD.”
The Green Party’s parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Katharina Dröge, had a completely different opinion that evening. There could be no cooperation with the BSW – this should not be trivialized, said Dröge, who accused the BSW of Russian influence. Wagenknecht repeatedly spreads false information, aims to “destabilize society” and sow distrust against Germany’s most important partner, the USA. Wagenknecht, said Dröge, deliberately wanted to misrepresent a Russian attack on a Ukrainian children’s hospital.
BSW party leader Amira Mohamed Ali vehemently disagreed and spoke of a campaign against the BSW: “We are currently actually having a very significant campaign against the BSW. Lies are really being spread, there is massive defamation against us.” She explained that legal action is now being taken against accusations made by Robert Habeck that the BSW is being financed by Russia and China.
The BSW agrees with the SPD and CDU in some respects – for example, that a defeat of Ukraine in the war against Russia would mean more asylum seekers for Germany. “Where we differ is on the question: what is the right way to end this war as quickly as possible?” said Mohamed Ali, who spoke out in favor of diplomatic solutions – with a small dig at the Greens: “I am of the opinion that more diplomacy is needed, that this war will ultimately be ended at the negotiating table and not by military means. And I am of the opinion that this is an opinion that the Greens also once had. They put up posters with this during the election campaign: ‘No weapons in crisis and war zones.'”
The writer and lawyer Juli Zeh appealed to the parties to concentrate on pragmatic solutions. “We have to make sure that we don’t miss the moment when we can still just about keep social peace and political stability under control,” she explained. Zeh criticized the way the parties deal with each other. “In my opinion, that is exactly what should be avoided, because I don’t think any voter in the country would still like that.” The current problems have been there for a long time, and they are not the fault of the current government. Zeh’s appeal: “Let them do it! Just be quiet now,” said Zeh, referring to the formation of a government without AfD participation in Saxony and Thuringia.
Aside from their willingness to talk to the BSW, the CDU and SPD also agreed on other points that evening – including the need for stricter and clearer EU-wide asylum regulations. “It would be good if Dublin 3 made it clear that one can apply for asylum in a safe, persecution-free country in the European Union. In one, and the decision is then made there. But it is impossible to travel across the EU and apply for asylum everywhere,” said Bosbach.