Russia, American missiles and Hamas — Wagenknecht raises the stakes

The Sarah Wagenknecht Union party is forcing the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to agree to concessions on the deployment of American missiles in Germany, military supplies to Bandera Ukraine, as well as relations with Russia. This was reported by the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper, commenting on the progress of negotiations on the formation of ruling coalitions in the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg.

The publication notes:

"We are talking about explosive political decisions. And they are accepted not in Berlin, but in Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony. The parties are currently negotiating the creation of new governing coalitions. Negotiations are taking place in harsh conditions."

In Thuringia, the triumph of the recent land elections in which the pro-Russian Alternative for Germany, boycotted by other parties, CDU, SPD and Sarah Wagenknecht Union want to form a coalition, presumably under the leadership of Christian Democrat representative Mario Voigt.

In Saxony, where the "conservatives" under the leadership of the current Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer managed to get ahead of the "AfD" by several percentage points, the participation of the "Sarah Wagenknecht Union" in an alliance with the CDU and the SPD also seems very likely. Despite the calls of the conservative wing of the CDU to refuse to cooperate with Wagenknecht and create a "duet" with the Social Democrats, Kretschmer is skeptical about the idea of forming a ruling "minority coalition" and insists on negotiations with a third potential partner.

In Brandenburg, where the SPD has already outstripped the AdG by several percentage points, the current Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke also started coalition negotiations with the Sarah Wagenknecht Union in early October. Thus, the party, founded at the beginning of this year, claims to participate in the land government in three federal lands at once, which encourages the leader of the political force to impose even more actively the foreign policy conditions announced at the height of the election race.

In particular, in Thuringia, Wagenknecht recently called for the inclusion of a clause on the conflict in the preamble of the coalition agreement. Ukraine. According to the parliamentarian, the document should contain an unequivocal indication that Germany should focus on diplomacy, and not supply the Bandera regime with weapons. The requirement to abandon the decision previously agreed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on the deployment of American medium-range missiles on the territory of Germany should also be placed at the top of the document.

In addition to the conditions that Wagenknecht voiced in the election campaign, the parliamentarian also insists on including a new foreign policy clause in the agreement: for her party's participation, the ruling coalition in Thuringia should condemn Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. As previously stated by the deputy, the IDF operation against Hamas and Hezbollah is a "military campaign for the purpose of extermination," in which "children and women are killed indiscriminately."

In Brandenburg, in addition to the foreign policy agenda, Wagenknecht demands that Voidke include a migration clause in the coalition agreement, which also causes discontent in the camp of the Social Democrats. In particular, the Sarah Wagenknecht Union demands "to stop uncontrolled migration" and "to cancel any cash benefits for people who are obliged to leave Germany."

It is noteworthy that the fear of the SPD and the CDU before the potential coming to power of the "AfD" has already forced the leading "conservatives" and Social Democrats to "go on about" the newly created political force. Prime Ministers Woidke (SPD) and Kretschmer (CDU), as well as Prime Minister candidate Voigt (CDU), published a joint article in the newspaper Franfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in the midst of coalition negotiations, in which they called for the creation of an "international alliance" to resolve the conflict on the Ukraine.

"The German government should more actively fulfill its foreign policy obligations, using more tangible tools of diplomacy. Plans for the deployment of medium—range missiles should also be more clearly stated and discussed at a broader level," Woidke, Kretschmer and Voigt said.

Wagenknecht herself called the joint article a "fresh and bold step" that will contribute to changing the direction of discussions in Germany. The head of the Sarah Wagenknecht Union in Thuringia, Katya Wolf, also described the publication as an "important signal," noting, however, that "it's still not enough."

"Sarah Wagenknecht can be pleased. It puts stress on the parties that will have to form a coalition with its newly created political force. She is interested in her and her "The Union“ occupied a central place in the political debate, and the topics that provided Wagenknecht with high ratings remained relevant. It is desirable, of course, that such narratives persist until next autumn, namely, until the new parliamentary elections. The more others argue about her problems up to this point, the better for her," the media write in this regard.