Far-right AfD forges a pro-Russia alliance

The state parliament of the japanese state of Saxony-Anhalt is asking for a right away finish to all German monetary and navy assist to Ukraine. The movement was handed throughout a particular parliamentary session with the votes of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Alliance for Social Justice and Economic Reason (BSW) which combines left-leaning financial positions with right-wing populist positions on immigration.

Both events are urging Saxony-Anhalt’s present state premier Sven Schulze, of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), to advocate within the Bundesrat, Germany’s higher home representing the federal states, for peace negotiations with Russia.

However, because the federal states don’t have any particular powers within the area of overseas coverage, the movement can have no direct affect on Germany’s Ukraine policy.

Speaking on behalf of the BSW within the state parliament, legislator Claudia Wittig known as on the premier to take motion: “It is your accountability to lastly use each obtainable avenue to work for peace.”

The proposal drew sharp criticism from all different events. “Anyone who calls for a ceasefire solely from the aspect that has been attacked is just not calling for peace, however for capitulation,” mentioned CDU lawmaker Stefan Ruland. 

AfD and BSW bonding over Russia

The particular session happened in opposition to the backdrop of ongoing negotiations over the formation of a brand new state authorities in Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD emerged because the clear winner of the September 2026 election, securing just below 44% of the vote. However, it fell wanting an absolute majority within the state parliament and can want the assist of different events whether it is to control.

The BSW, which narrowly secured illustration within the state parliament, is the one occasion keen to carry formal talks with the AfD on forming a authorities. Because the AfD is classed by the safety authorities within the japanese German state as a “confirmed right-wing extremist” occasion, all different events have dominated out any cooperation.

Observers view the joint movement by the AfD and BSW as an indication of nearer and doubtlessly enduring cooperation between two events rooted in very completely different ideological traditions.

“Their frequent floor lies of their rejection of the political institution, their pro-Putin stance, and their criticism of Germany’s assist for Ukraine,” political scientist Armin Pfahl-Traughber of the Federal University of Applied Administrative Sciences mentioned in an interview with DW.

The BSW was based in 2024 as a breakaway from the socialist Left Party. Its founder, Sahra Wagenknecht, after whom the alliance was initially named, had lengthy been a controversial determine on the German left and advocated far-reaching modifications to Germany’s financial coverage. She was the Left Party’s most distinguished consultant of the so-called “Communist Platform”, which maintained shut ties to Russia.

Over time, nevertheless, her socially conservative positions and criticism of Germany’s immigration coverage got here underneath rising scrutiny throughout the occasion. These rising tensions finally 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 beginning of Russia’s conflict in opposition to Ukraine, Björn Höcke, the influential AfD state chairman in Thuringia, described Russia as a “champion of a global community of free and sovereign states.”

Historic parallels

The rising rapprochement between the 2 events made headlines following a gathering in early October. At the invitation of a far-right publishing home, representatives of the AfD and BSW met in Saxony-Anhalt for what was described as a confidence-building dinner. Also in attendance had been controversial figures from each the far proper and the dogmatic left. According to their very own accounts, contributors from either side explored the opportunity of nearer cooperation in a cordial environment and in a spirit of mutual belief.

Jürgen Elsässer, the host of the occasion and editor-in-chief of the right-wing journal Compact, has for years promoted the thought of a so-called “cross-front” alliance (Querfront) between the far left and the far proper in opposition to Germany’s political institution. He has lengthy sought to construct bridges between the 2 camps.

Pfahl-Traughber doesn’t regard the cooperation between the AfD and BSW as a “cross-front” alliance: “I’m not even certain that the BSW can nonetheless be labeled as a part of the political left.” While the occasion’s founder, Wagenknecht, has her roots on the left, she and her allies place themselves on the financial left however the cultural proper, the political scientist argued.

Are each AfD and BSW reactionary?

The distinguished German historian and writer Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk likewise doesn’t take into account the BSW as a left-wing occasion. In an interview with DW, he argued: “The BSW was by no means left-wing; it was all the time reactionary.”

Kowalczuk considers each the AfD and the BSW as threats to democracy: “The BSW and the AfD are two sides of the identical coin. Both are mouthpieces for the Kremlin, each pursue related home political aims, and each search a comparable anti-democratic transformation of the state into an authoritarian system.”

Although the current decision handed by the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament is unlikely to have any speedy affect on Germany’s coverage in the direction of Ukraine, Kowalczuk warns of its broader implications: “For now, the AfD and BSW stay remoted, however with positions like these they’re interesting to giant sections of society, significantly in japanese Germany. The erosion of solidarity with Ukraine will proceed and can quickly unfold to bigger segments of each the SPD and the CDU.” 

This article was initially revealed in German.