Talks with the AfD: Does Wagenknecht want to tear down the firewall?

Following Sahra Wagenknecht's comments about the BSW's talks with the AfD at the federal level, her co-party leader Amira Mohamed Ali denied any such allegations. "Our stance toward the AfD has not changed. There is no cooperation because we are far too far apart in terms of content," Mohamed Ali told the "Rheinische Post" (Saturday). Mohamed Ali also added that there are "no talks with the AfD at the federal level." "There is absolutely no reason for that."

The BSW co-chair explained that talks had been held with the AfD in Thuringia because the party was needed there to fill the judicial positions. At the same time, she emphasized: "But we are not entrenching ourselves with the old parties behind firewalls that help the AfD rather than harm it. We are concerned with content."

Wagenknecht had expressed her openness to political talks with the AfD at the federal level. Currently, this isn't happening; it's a phantom discussion, she told the German Press Agency. "But if you ask me whether I would also talk to Mr. Chrupalla if there were a concrete reason for it, as was the case in Thuringia during the meeting between the parliamentary group leaders: yes, of course." This was met with criticism from other parties.

AfD leader Tino Chrupalla had previously advocated for contacts with the Federal Office of Social Affairs and Consumer Protection (BSW) at the federal level. Asked whether he and co-chair Alice Weidel would be available for talks with Wagenknecht, he told Welt-TV: "Yes, always." He even stated that talks with the BSW have already taken place: "About what's moving Germany and how to change majorities."

In Thuringia, the chairman of the BSW parliamentary group, Frank Augsten, spoke for two hours on Wednesday with the AfD parliamentary group leader there, Björn Höcke . The reason was a blockade in the appointment of important judicial bodies in the state. However, according to both sides, general state policy was also discussed.

The AfD state association has been classified by the state's Office for the Protection of the Constitution as firmly right-wing extremist. Höcke is one of the AfD's spokesmen for the far right. The AfD governs Thuringia in a coalition with the CDU and SPD . The Social Democrats advised against further meetings.

Chrupalla, however, said in the "Welt" interview: "This is absolutely right and, above all, in the interest of the citizens. This is what the citizens here voted for." The AfD is by far the strongest force in Thuringia and is being excluded by the other parties.

BSW head Wagenknecht has long called for a more open approach to the AfD and for its participation in governments. Dialogue should be "normal in a democracy," she said. "The AfD is currently supported by more than one in five voters. Exclusion and speech bans are undemocratic and a slap in the face for these voters, which only binds them more closely to the AfD." The firewall policy has made the AfD stronger, she said.

The CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens, and Left Party, however, consider the AfD's positions and goals incompatible with their own and do not want political cooperation. In the elections for committee positions and for the position of Vice President of the Bundestag, no majorities were found for AfD candidates.

Politicians from the CDU , CSU, SPD, Greens, and Left Party expressed criticism of the contacts between BSW and AfD in the "Rheinische Post" and "Stern" newspapers. SPD politician Dirk Wiese, for example, spoke of a "disastrous alliance."

Perhaps the sharpest reaction came from the Left Party, especially since Wagenknecht remained a party member until 2023. Left Party parliamentary group leader Heidi Reichinnek said in Berlin: "You don't talk to a secure right-wing extremist party, you don't work with them—even if you're disappearing into insignificance and just want to get back into the press."

Wagenknecht was asked over the weekend about a possible coalition between the BSW and the AfD after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt in 2026. She commented: "We are a young party that will be entering parliament in Saxony-Anhalt for the first time. We would be crazy if we were to enter into a coalition with a party like the AfD there as a junior partner, which we would be." She also said on Sunday that the differences with the AfD, for example on social issues, are very significant.

However, some issues also overlap between the two parties. During election campaigns, the BSW promised a "consistent peace policy" and a "stop to uncontrolled migration" – issues that the AfD also champions.

The BSW in the European Parliament recently announced that it would join the far right in voting for a vote of no confidence against EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The AfD also signaled support for this vote of no confidence.

The BSW has not been represented in the Bundestag since the February election. The young party failed to clear the five percent hurdle with 4.98 percent. Any talks between the two sides would therefore have no impact on the majority situation in the current Bundestag.