2024-08-20 23:28:09
According to polls, there is a neck-and-neck race for second place in Thuringia between BSW and CDU. In Eisenach, Sahra Wagenknecht is stirring up the mood for the final stretch of the election campaign.
It gets loud when she finally steps on stage at around 5:50 p.m. The audience moves further forward and raises their cell phones to take photos. Photos of Sahra Wagenknecht. The star is here, you might think. And with him the great anger about everything that is happening in faraway Berlin.
In less than two weeks, the people of Thuringia will vote on a new state parliament. Since the most recent election, the state has been considered difficult to govern – because the political fringes here are particularly strong and only a few coalitions seem realistic. Top officials from Berlin are also happy to get involved in this final spurt.
Wagenknecht was one of them on Monday in Eisenach. The attention on site was immense. Almost 400 people attended the event. One reason for the curiosity is that it cannot be ruled out that the “Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance” (BSW), which was only founded at the beginning of the year, will be directly involved in a government. And could therefore also appoint ministers.
Two of these potential ministers were in Eisenach and were combative. In addition to Wagenknecht, many are particularly interested in the leading candidate, Katja Wolf, and her stance on a possible alliance with the AfD under Björn Höcke, which is considered to be firmly right-wing extremist in Thuringia. Wolf’s stance on potential cooperation? No, there shouldn’t be one, but…
Eisenach looks freshly spruced up at the start of the week. Historic buildings line the market square, all in excellent condition on the outside. The sun shines on the imposing St. George’s Church, and the water in the St. George’s Fountain babbles gently in front of it. The people of Eisenach lick “honest ice cream”, as the ice cream shop calls it, or they eat a forkful of the organic tart from the local café. Others stroll through the busy streets of the old town. Problems are not apparent at first glance on this afternoon.
But next to the clothing stalls that have been set up on the market square, there is now also the stage on which Sahra Wagenknecht will appear in the early evening. The star guest of the BSW, who is supposed to support the leading candidates for the Thuringian state election, Katja Wolf and Steffen Schütz. And the people who have already gathered here in front of the stage – they see problems. And not a few of them.
But they usually have nothing to do with national politics. Topic number one: arms deliveries to Ukraine. All visitors with whom t-online spoke before the start of the performance had little understanding for the military support of the country that was invaded by Russia. The war must end, arms deliveries must be stopped. “And Sahra Wagenknecht says what the people think,” says a visitor who does not want to give his name. “Arms deliveries prolong the suffering.”
Only a few people on the Eisenach market square have heard anything about the BSW’s top candidates Katja Wolf and Steffen Schütz. Most of them came because of Wagenknecht himself. And they are dissatisfied. With “Habeck’s heating law”, the federal government’s migration policy and the low minimum wage. When asked what they specifically expect from the BSW in Thuringia, many do not know the answer. But if they have any wishes from state politics, then they want more teachers and less bureaucracy.
What do they want to vote for? “AfD or BSW,” is the answer most people give. Many are still unsure. A coalition between the two parties? Many would not mind. “If they find good solutions together, I’ll be happy with that,” says Gerhard Hofmann, himself a former CDU member and here today because of Wagenknecht. “Disappointed former CDU member,” he added.