German conservative politicians against coalition with left-populist party in eastern states

BERLIN

Senior conservative politicians on Wednesday voiced their opposition to coalition talks with the left-populists in the eastern states of Thuringia and Saxony.

Roderich Kiesewetter, a senior lawmaker of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), sharply criticized left-wing leader Sahra Wagenknecht and her party for their pro-Russia policies.

“Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) is acting as the long arm of Kremlin,” Kiesewetter told German daily Tagesspiegel.

“The BSW wants to undermine the democratic center, our basic values, that is why cooperation with them should be ruled out,” he argued.

The left-wing populist BSW emerged as a potential kingmaker in the eastern states after Sunday’s elections, which saw the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The anti-immigrant AfD won the election in Thuringia with 32.8% of the vote, while the Christian Democrats came in second with 23.6%. All parties publicly declared that they will not enter into coalition talks with the far-right AfD.

The CDU’s lead candidate in Thuringia, Mario Voigt, said on Monday that they would first hold talks with the Social Democrats (SPD) and the BSW, in order to explore coalition options.

But his comments prompted a revolt within his own party, with more than 40 senior CDU politicians drafting a resolution to rule out any political deals with the BSW, either at the regional or national level, according to Tagesspiegel daily.

Dennis Radtke, an EU lawmaker from the CDU, has also spoken against coalition talks with the BSW, arguing that the left-wing party’s ideology was in stark contrast to the views of the Christian Democrats.

“Every political actor knows what the BSW stands for. They are against the core principles of our Christian Democratic thought, such as Western ties, liberal democracy, and unification of Europe,” he said.