Dittrich elected sole leader of BSW Saxony-Anhalt at 21 with 83 of 99 votes

Leadership change in Magdeburg

The BSW in Saxony-Anhalt replaced its joint leadership with a single state chairman at a party congress in Magdeburg on Saturday, 14 November 2026. John Lucas Dittrich, 21, received 83 of 99 votes cast, with three abstentions. Until now he had led the state association together with Thomas Schulze, who will concentrate on chairing the party's new group in the state parliament. Dittrich is one of the party's five members in the Landtag and serves there as parliamentary managing director. The new state board has one chairman, four deputy chairs and, for the first time, a general secretary.

Leadership team and ambitions

Gregor Frömmrich, 36, previously the state managing director, became the general secretary with 90.8 percent of the vote and no rival candidate. Dittrich also ran unopposed. The party says it has 520 members. Dittrich said the party is now being recognised as a political force and that the new structure makes it more professional.

“As a party, we are now being taken seriously as a serious political actor in Saxony-Anhalt.”

His stated aim is to establish the BSW across the whole state. The next milestone is the municipal elections, and Dittrich said the party must field candidates in every district, organise its personnel and build strong district council groups.

“I believe that with the parliamentary group and the new board we have good chances of establishing our party across the state.”

Leverage in the state parliament

The composition of the Landtag gives the five BSW members outsized weight. The AfD holds 39 seats, the same number as the CDU, SPD, Greens and Left combined. Schulze said the BSW now carries more weight than some parties with 40 percent of the vote.

“We have more power than some 40-percent party.”

Dittrich said the BSW holds the balance of power in the chamber and decides which laws pass and which motions win a majority. He pointed to a special session of the Landtag that the AfD and BSW convened in October, where the two factions, with their joint majority, called for an end to sanctions against Russia.

Coalition ruled out, talks with the AfD

The BSW rules out joining a coalition for now and will not vote for AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund as minister-president. Even so, it is in talks with the AfD on cooperation in the Landtag, and the AfD wants any agreements put in writing. The two factions already work together on policy questions. The BSW also backed an AfD statement in the media committee opposing the Digital Media State Treaty. The party says it is ready to work constructively with all parties represented in the Landtag.