Wagenknecht rejects Höcke's bid to install her as Thuringia's minister president

Höcke's video provocation

Thuringia's AfD state and parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke published a roughly two-minute video on X on 13 August 2026, directly addressing BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht. He referenced her recent statement that the firewall policy against the AfD had failed and challenged her to act on it. Höcke said the BSW in Thuringingen was functioning as the "latest cartel party" by propping up CDU minister president Mario Voigt, whom he said had "lost every shred of credibility." He urged Wagenknecht to become minister president of the Free State of Thuringia, adding: "I offer you my hand." The proposal was timed before the Saxony-Anhalt state election on 6 September, where Wagenknecht had previously signaled her party could help an AfD minister president into office in Magdeburg through abstention in the decisive third ballot.

Wagenknecht's swift rejection

Wagenknecht did not take long to respond, rejecting the offer in a statement to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur on the same day. She called Höcke's proposal "neither honest nor serious" and said the office of Thuringia's minister president was "no roaming trophy that Mr Höcke can award at will." She accused Höcke of making "politics like the old parties," saying "party-political maneuvering and grandstanding takes priority over problem-solving." She also noted that a real solution for Thuringia could only come from a minister president rooted in the state, whereas she had only spent her childhood there.

The arithmetic and the obstacles

The Thuringian state constitution allows a constructive vote of no confidence, meaning the parliament can remove a minister president by electing a successor. AfD and BSW together hold 47 of the 88 seats in the Erfurt Landtag, above the 45-seat majority threshold. The constitution also permits the election of a person who, like Wagenknecht, is not a member of the parliament.

However, skepticism runs high on both sides. The office of AfD federal chair Alice Weidel described the move as "a purely tactical offer," adding the motto: "Put your money where your mouth is, Ms. Wagenknecht." Wagenknecht herself pointed out that Höcke knows "the majority of those sitting in the Thuringian Landtag on a BSW ticket are in opposition to the federal board and would not vote for me." She has long clashed with the Thuringian BSW state association, led by Katja Wolf, over its participation in the governing coalition.

Pressure on Voigt and the Brombeer coalition

Minister president Mario Voigt leads the so-called Brombeer coalition of CDU, BSW, and SPD. He has been under political pressure since TU Chemnitz revoked his doctorate title in January 2026 over alleged irregularities in his 2008 dissertation, and his appeal against the decision has now failed. Höcke's AfD has been campaigning against Voigt for months. The AfD had already attempted a constructive no-confidence vote in February 2026, with Höcke himself as the candidate, but the maneuver failed as expected.

Wagenknecht turns on her own party

While rejecting Höcke's offer, Wagenknecht echoed his criticism of Voigt. She said it was correct that "Mario Voigt as minister president has lost confidence and BSW Thuringia must withdraw its support from him." This placed her directly against the course of the Thuringian BSW state association, which has previously ruled out cooperation with the AfD and continues to support the coalition with CDU and SPD. The internal conflict between the federal party leadership and the Thuringian state branch, which has simmered for some time, was thus brought fully into the open.