BSW reaches out to AfD for election debates, but Weidel says no, for now

The overture

On 26 June the leadership of Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) sent a letter to AfD heads Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. It floated "a controversial debate on a large marketplace in the east of the republic between the best‑known faces of two parties that are fought by the mainstream for different reasons." The two‑stage duel, with legs in Magdeburg and Schwerin, was meant as a "home and away" fixture before the elections in Saxony‑Anhalt and Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern. BSW co‑leaders Fabio de Masi and Amira Mohamed Ali, together with general secretary Oliver Ruhnert, argued that the events would pull political debate "back into the centre of society," sidestepping established TV formats.

A controversial debate on a large marketplace in the east of the republic between the best‑known faces of two parties that are fought by the mainstream for different reasons.

The rejection

On 1 July AfD co‑leader Alice Weidel declined via her spokesperson Daniel Tapp. The AfD, he said, "naturally stands for dialogue and democratic exchange" and acknowledged shared positions on Ukraine, but "ultimately each party campaigning is responsible for its own election campaign." The statement tied any conversation to a BSW success at the ballot box: "If it achieves that, the AfD is naturally ready for talks." BSW figures were quick to frame the rebuff as fear. De Masi told Der Spiegel that "Ms Weidel is backing down and is afraid of losing a duel with Sahra Wagenknecht," while Ruhnert called the move "clumsy" and regretted that "many voters in the east would certainly have been interested in such a duel."

Ms Weidel is backing down and is afraid of losing a duel with Sahra Wagenknecht.

That Alice Weidel is chickening out is clumsy. Many voters in the east would certainly have been interested in such a duel.

The wider AfD picture

In Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern, AfD state co‑speaker and top candidate Leif‑Erik Holm dismissed the letter as "a poisoned letter" and pure political marketing. "Why should we do that?" he said, noting that BSW had already ruled out backing an AfD‑led government. BSW state chair Peter Schabbel reinforced that line: "There will be no coalition with the AfD, nor will the BSW elect an AfD minister‑president. This position is clear and unchanged." At the same time the federal BSW letter criticised the so‑called "firewall" that keeps other parties from cooperating with the AfD, insisting that "we always decide on the merits and not according to who tables motions in the parliaments."

The BSW is afraid of the five percent hurdle and now has to bring itself into conversation with a poisoned letter.

There will be no coalition with the AfD, nor will the BSW elect an AfD minister‑president.

The state elections

Two votes loom in September: Saxony‑Anhalt on the 6th and Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern on the 20th. Polling puts BSW at 4% in Saxony‑Anhalt and 6% in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern, meaning the party must surpass the 5% threshold in at least one state to enter a Landtag. AfD is leading voter preferences in both regions, and any BSW breakthrough could alter the arithmetic of coalition‑building. SRF foreign editor Stefan Reinhart noted that "if the BSW helped the AfD to power, that would be quite an upheaval in the party landscape."

If the BSW helped the AfD to power, that would be quite an upheaval in the party landscape.

Overlap and risk

BSW and AfD converge on several foreign‑policy positions: both are EU‑sceptical, Putin‑friendly, oppose NATO and call for restricting migration, although BSW’s approach is less radical. Reinhart sees a strategic gamble for Wagenknecht, who is trying to recover from her party’s failure to clear the 5% hurdle at the 2024 federal election. "She wants to get back into the game," he said. The outreach could alienate her left‑wing base, many of whom reject any entanglement with the far right. Should BSW ultimately enable an AfD minister‑president, Reinhart warned, Wagenknecht would become a "Stirrup-holder" for the far‑right party.