BSW federal leadership orders Thuringia faction to leave 'blackberry coalition'

The blackberry coalition in Erfurt must be ended immediately, according to a new order from the BSW federal leadership. Leading Thuringian party members refuse to comply.

15 August 2026 | 14:38 Uhr

Strife in paradise: BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht and – in the background – Thuringia's state chairwoman Katja Wolf. Photo: Martin Schutt/dpa

By Rainer Rutz

The federal leadership of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance is pursuing maximum confrontation in Thuringia. In a new resolution, the BSW faction in the Erfurt state parliament is now being called upon to leave the so-called blackberry coalition with the CDU and SPD. On Monday, the 15-member faction will meet to discuss the order from Berlin.

Observers do not rule out that this could lead to a showdown between the pragmatists around Thuringia's BSW state chairwoman and finance minister Katja Wolf and the Wagenknecht guard, causing the faction to break apart. Around a third of the MPs are considered loyal to the party's Berlin politburo. And its resolution is unmistakable.

Trigger: Voigt's Doctorate Revoked

The trigger for the current stirring up of the long-simmering conflicts in the Thuringian BSW is the doctorate of CDU Minister-President Mario Voigt – or more precisely, Voigt's no-longer doctorate. This week, Chemnitz University of Technology confirmed that it had rejected an objection by Voigt against the revocation that took place at the beginning of the year.

Politburo Cannot Be Stopped

Since then, the BSW federal board around the chairpersons Amira Mohamed Ali and Fabio De Masi, but above all party founder Sahra Wagenknecht, have been unstoppable. Addressed to their own ranks in Thuringia, it now says:

"The BSW must not make itself the majority provider for a man who puts his personal interests above the welfare of the state."

It is therefore expected of the BSW faction in the Thuringian state parliament "that it no longer supports Mario Voigt and supports the path for a non-partisan minister-president who governs with changing majorities, also in Thuringia." The "non-partisan minister-president" is a fixed idea of Wagenknecht, who has been leading the BSW basic values commission since the end of last year.

The parliamentary managing director of the Thuringian BSW faction, Stefan Wogawa, calls the committee "Sahra's watchdog council." He mocks the construct with the "non-partisan minister-president" as "your people's president."

AfD Offer Adds Pressure

Apart from the Wagenknecht ultras, however, no one else wanted to know anything about this model until now – not even the other parties. That has changed since Friday, at least if one takes a letter from Thuringia's AfD state and faction chairman Björn Höcke seriously.

The head of the state association classified as definitely right-wing extremist wrote an open love letter to the Thuringian BSW faction, in which he called on the MPs:

"Let us jointly search for an independent personality who possesses the authority to unite the country and can gather a majority behind them in the Thuringian state parliament."

Schütz and Wolf Stand by the Coalition

"We will not be searching for anyone," says Thuringia's BSW infrastructure minister Steffen Schütz in response. He, for one, wants to refrain from this "offer of assistance."

Speaking to ZDF, Schütz then also defended the coalition of CDU, BSW and SPD. He experiences the government as a "team that really achieves something." He noted the resolution of the party leadership "with dismay."

Schütz was even sharper in the Tagesspiegel, telling them:

"With their dangerous course, Wagenknecht, De Masi and Mohamed Ali are crossing boundaries without any internal party discussion and will formation, which I am no longer willing to tolerate."

Calls for Party Purge

On the other side, among the hardline advocates of Wagenknecht's anti-government doctrine, calls have long been circulating for a purge within the party ranks.