Germany's far-right AfD forges a pro-Russia alliance with the BSW

The state parliament of the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt is calling for an immediate end to all German financial and military aid to Ukraine. The motion was passed during a special parliamentary session with the votes of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the left-wing populist Alliance for Social Justice and Economic Reason (BSW) which combines left-leaning economic positions with right-wing populist positions on immigration.

Both parties are urging Saxony-Anhalt's current state premier Sven Schulze of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to advocate in the Bundesrat, Germany's upper house representing the federal states, for peace negotiations with Russia.

However, as the federal states have no specific powers in the field of foreign policy, the motion will have no direct impact on Germany's Ukraine policy.

Speaking on behalf of the BSW in the state parliament, legislator Claudia Wittig called on the premier to take action: "It is your responsibility to finally use every available avenue to work for peace."

The proposal drew sharp criticism from all other parties. "Anyone who demands a ceasefire only from the side that has been attacked is not calling for peace, but for capitulation," said CDU lawmaker Stefan Ruland. 

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AfD and BSW bonding over Russia

The special session took place against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations over the formation of a new state government in Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD had emerged as the clear winner of the September 2026 election, securing just under 44% of the vote. However, it fell short of an absolute majority in the state parliament and will need the support of other parties if it is to govern.

The BSW, which narrowly secured representation in the state parliament, is the only party willing to hold formal talks with the AfD on forming a government. Because the AfD is classified by the security authorities in the eastern German state as a "confirmed right-wing extremist" party, all other parties have ruled out any cooperation.

Observers view the joint motion by the AfD and BSW as a sign of closer and potentially enduring cooperation between two parties rooted in very different ideological traditions.

"Their common ground lies in their rejection of the political establishment, their pro-Putin stance, and their criticism of Germany's support for Ukraine," political scientist Armin Pfahl-Traughber of the University of Applied Administrative Sciences of the Federation said in an interview with DW.

The BSW was founded in 2024 as a breakaway from the socialist Left Party. Its founder, Sahra Wagenknecht, after whom the alliance was originally named, had long been a controversial figure on the German left and advocated far-reaching changes to Germany's economic policy. She was the Left Party's most prominent representative of the so-called "Communist Platform", which maintained close ties to Russia.

Over time, however, her socially conservative positions and criticism of Germany's immigration policy came under increasing scrutiny within the party. These growing tensions ultimately led to her departure from the Left Party and the founding of the BSW.

The AfD, too, has repeatedly expressed sympathy for Putin's system. Shortly after the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, Björn Höcke, the influential AfD state chairman in Thuringia, described Russia as a "champion of a world of free and sovereign states."

Historic parallels

The growing rapprochement between the two parties made headlines following a meeting in early October. At the invitation of a far-right publishing house, representatives of the AfD and BSW met in Saxony-Anhalt for what was described as a confidence-building dinner. Also in attendance were controversial figures from both the far right and the dogmatic left. According to their own accounts, participants from both sides explored the possibility of closer cooperation in a cordial atmosphere and in a spirit of mutual trust.

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Jürgen Elsässer, the host of the event and editor-in-chief of the right-wing magazine Compact, has for years promoted the idea of a so-called "cross-front" alliance (Querfront) between the far left and the far right in opposition to Germany's political establishment. He has long sought to build bridges between the two camps.

The historical model for this idea dates back to the 1930s, shortly before Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists came to power in Germany. At the time, national-conservative forces sought cooperation with elements of the political left in an effort to secure a majority of their own. As political scientist Armin Pfahl-Traughber explained in an interview with DW: "The aim, however, was not to save democracy from the National Socialists, but merely to establish an authoritarian political order without them." The idea failed. What followed were twelve years of terror under Nazi rule and World War II.

Pfahl-Traughber does not regard the cooperation between the AfD and BSW as a "cross-front" alliance: "I am not even sure that the BSW can still be classified as part of the political left." While the party's founder, Sahra Wagenknecht, has her roots on the left, she and her allies position themselves on the economic left but the cultural right, the political scientist argues.

AfD lawmaker elected speaker in Saxony-Anhalt

Are both AfD and BSW reactionary?

The prominent German historian and author Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk likewise does not consider the BSW as a left-wing party. In an interview with DW, he argued: "The BSW was never left-wing; it was always reactionary."

Kowalczuk considers both the AfD and the BSW a threat to democracy: "The BSW and the AfD are two sides of the same coin. Both are mouthpieces for the Kremlin, both pursue similar domestic political objectives, and both seek a comparable anti-democratic transformation of the state into an authoritarian system."

Although the recent resolution passed by the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament is unlikely to have any immediate impact on Germany's policy towards Ukraine, Kowalczuk warns of its broader implications: "For now, the AfD and BSW remain isolated, but with positions like these they are appealing to large sections of society, particularly in eastern Germany. The erosion of solidarity with Ukraine will continue and will soon spread to larger segments of both the SPD and the CDU," he told DW.