Dear Friends,

13.5 per cent of the vote in the Brandenburg state elections is a huge success. For the third time in a row, we have not only cleared the five-percent hurdle, but have entered a state parliament with a double-digit result. No other party launch has been so successful: after only a few months, we have become the third strongest party in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony. This is a political earthquake that is also shaking the coalition government in Berlin. 

Without us, little can be achieved in the three federal states. We are prepared to take responsibility in governments, but not at any price. The basic prerequisite for any government participation remains that tangible improvements must be achieved. For us, governments are not a source of handouts, but must serve the people in the country without any ifs and buts. 

More than ever, reason and justice are needed in state politics:

• We need more teachers and less reliance on teaching by computer so that our children can finally learn to read, write and do arithmetic in an age-appropriate way again.
• We need to defend ourselves against Karl Lauterbach’s hospital reform, which threatens to counteract the hospital plans of the federal states and to create a widespread collapse.
• Investments in infrastructure are necessary to make our bridges safe again and to ensure that infrastructure does not become a costly legacy for future generations.
• We want more police officers on the streets to make our streets safe again.
• We need fair financing for local authorities so that they are not threatened with being unable to operate.
• Unregulated migration must be stopped and immigration figures reduced so that integration can succeed at all.
• The political mistakes of the Covid period must finally be addressed.
• And finally, the following applies across the board: ‘Peace is not everything, but without peace, life is not worth living!’ That is why a state government in which we participate must reject the stationing of US medium-range weapons and take a clear stand for peace.

If the other parties are not willing to contribute to a significant improvement in people’s living conditions, then we are sure that we can fight for the necessary changes from the opposition benches as well. However, we are approaching the talks with optimism and an open mind, and we hope that the will of the voters will be accepted and that good state governments can be formed. 

With the election results this year, we have jointly created the conditions to start the 2025 federal election year strongly. We are also making progress in building up the state associations: on 14 and 15 September, we founded the state parties in Bremen and Lower Saxony, and on 22 September, our tenth state association in Rhineland-Palatinate. 

We would therefore like to thank you again: for your commitment, for your votes at the ballot box, for the conversations you have had with friends, colleagues and relatives, and for your donations and support in building our party! 

Kind regards,
Sahra Wagenknecht, Amira Mohamed Ali and Christian Leye

Call for the peace demonstration on 3 October

The danger of war in Germany is growing. Many people are afraid that our country will be drawn into a war. But instead of honestly trying to end the war in Ukraine diplomatically, the German government is supplying more and more weapons and wants to station US medium-range missiles in this country from 2026, which would make Germany a primary target of Russian nuclear missiles. This must not be allowed to continue.

Therefore, on 3 October, we want to set an example for diplomacy and peace, against escalation and war, with a nationwide peace demonstration. Come and join us! 

Why the AfD is not a peace party

We are repeatedly accused of having close ties to the AfD. However, the AfD is neither a peace party nor a party that stands up for the working population. In an interview with Weltwoche, Oskar Lafontaine highlights the major differences between the AfD and the BSW: For us at the BSW, the issue of peace is not only important in the context of the war in Ukraine, but all over the world, and thus also in Gaza. The AfD couldn’t care less about this issue. When AfD politicians do comment on it, they express sympathy for Israel, even for the far-right Israeli government, which is committing massive war crimes in the Gaza Strip. 

When it comes to rearmament, the AfD even takes a more extreme position than the federal government. It believes that NATO’s two-percent target is not enough and wants to spend even more money on weapons while making cuts in social provision. The AfD wants a tax policy in the spirit of the CDU/CSU and FDP. It demands: no inheritance tax, no wealth tax, no higher taxation of very high incomes. There are also insurmountable differences on the wage issue: when the BSW Group submitted a motion in the Bundestag at the end of April 2024 to increase the statutory minimum wage to 14 euros, the AfD voted against it, as did the SPD, Greens, FDP and CDU/CSU.

The BSW, on the other hand, is committed to peace negotiations, diplomacy and disarmament initiatives worldwide. We advocate a pension reform based on the Austrian model so that work is valued again as it deserves to be, and people do not have to work until they are very old and worry about their retirement security. The BSW is committed to a fair tax policy that relieves the burden on our small and medium-sized businesses, but places a greater burden on large, multinational corporations.

Our Member of the European Parliament, Fabio De Masi, also recently discussed the question of how to deal with the AfD on the Markus Lanz programme, making it clear that avoiding the debate on content has only made the AfD stronger. How to do it right, how to clearly highlight the differences and why we as the BSW represent the majority of people, you can watch here.

Defend jobs at VW!

On 19 September, our party leader Amira Mohamed Ali was a guest at the Works Council of the Volkswagen plant in Emden. In contrast to Robert Habeck [a Green leader], who did not plan a similar discussion during his visit, the BSW party leader obtained comprehensive first-hand information about the current situation of the employees and the causes of the crisis at Germany’s largest carmaker. 

The works council believes that there have been major management mistakes, for example, initially focusing on large, expensive electric cars instead of affordable small cars. The parallel development of batteries, for example, by VW’s numerous brands, is also swallowing up too much money. The group clearly needs to improve in this area.

For us, it is absolutely clear: management’s attack on job security and the consideration of closing plants are unacceptable! The trade union will rightly show bitter resistance here! And the world of politics is not without blame for the current crisis. The government has done too little to maintain the German model of prosperity with its high industrial value added. On the contrary: the ill-advised policy of sanctions against Russia has also led to energy prices here being much higher than in most other countries. 

In the coming decades, we will continue to have to produce in an open-technology way. The ban on the combustion engine from 2035 is wrong. The BSW will therefore ask the Bundestag to vote on a withdrawal of the combustion ban. 

Every single euro counts: Become a BSW sponsor for better politics for Germany!

Founding a new party and successfully leading it through a federal election campaign a short time later is a mammoth task and also a financial challenge, because structures have to be built up while election campaigns are already underway. 

Anyone who wants to support the BSW in this challenge can help with a regular monthly donation. Every sponsor contributes – even with small or one-time donations – to our steady income, which helps us to continue to meet the challenges ahead.

And a donation to our party helps twice over, because for every donation from a private individual, the BSW later receives additional funding from the state. 

In addition, every donor who donates over €300 and from whom we have the address information (including email) automatically receives a donation receipt at the beginning of the following year. For donations of up to €300, the cash deposit slip or bank statement is sufficient as proof. 

If you have any further questions about donations, you will find many useful answers in the FAQ.

Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht – Vernunft und Gerechtigkeit
Volksbank Pirna
IBAN: DE45 8506 0000 1000 4483 70
BIC: GENODEF1PR2
Reference: Donation