Dresden. On Monday afternoon, BSW parliamentary group leader Sabine Zimmermann struggled to bring order to the political chaos that her party had created since Friday. Shortly before the weekend it became known that the BSW would like to apply for a Corona investigation committee in the Saxon state parliament. On the one hand, this put a strain on the introductory discussions with the CDU and SPD. And on the other hand, the overall political situation has not been made any easier.
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“We will bring the Corona investigation committee into the parliamentary process,” says Zimmermann. She said something similar on Friday. But no one in the Saxon parliament knows about the corresponding proposal. According to the group leader, this is due to the conditions. The newly elected BSW representatives do not even have an email address with a state parliament ID. As soon as we are technically able to do this, the application will be submitted to the state parliament system.
The BSW parliamentary group needs additional votes
What is much more important is whether the BSW can secure support for the project. The CDU and SPD reject an investigative committee. Both wanted to convince the Wagenknecht party of other solutions for dealing with the pandemic: a study commission or a regular state parliament committee on the subject of Corona were under discussion. This is no longer being discussed, also because the introductory discussions are paused until October 14th without any results following the BSW’s approach.
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However, in order to set up an investigative committee, the 15-member BSW parliamentary group needs more votes. A fifth of the state parliament – i.e. 24 members – are necessary. It’s unclear where they’re supposed to come from. Zimmermann’s latest statements are of little help.
AfD parliamentary group leader Urban speaks of the first litmus test
What is particularly ironic is that there will be a Corona investigative committee in this legislature anyway. Independent of the BSW. The AfD parliamentary group announced the committee for the new state parliament months ago and will apply for it this week. It has the necessary votes from its own strengths. She uses this circumstance to put pressure on the BSW. People in the parliamentary group are pleased that this calculation appears to be working.
We will not actively work with the AfD.
Sabine Zimmermann
BSW parliamentary group leader
AfD parliamentary group leader Jörg Urban calls the approach the “first litmus test”: the BSW must prove to what extent it supports its own demands. Urban finds the BSW’s behavior overall to be “strange”. The new party follows the motto Hü und Hott. He couldn’t say whether the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance with the investigative committee and the blackberry coalition were really serious.
The SPD’s response is cold
So the question again to Sabine Zimmermann from BSW: What does she think of a possible cooperation with the AfD? This option would allow the BSW to consider the committee a shared success. “There will be no discussions. We will not actively work with the AfD,” says Zimmermann. Instead, she speculates that other factions would have an understanding. She could imagine the CDU, the SPD and also the Greens as partners. “We will see who supports our application.” Discussions were ongoing.
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The parliamentary managing director of the SPD parliamentary group, Laura Stellbrink, reacts coolly to such sentences: It is clear to the SPD that “we will not support such a motion”. This is considered “not profitable”. The Greens also don’t want to hear anything about a committee of inquiry: the Parliamentary Managing Director, Valentin Lippmann, calls the request “unlaid eggs.”
Cancellations every minute
The left-wing parliamentary group leader Susanne Schaper also rules out support for the BSW application. Even the individual representative of the Free Voters, Matthias Berger (independent), sees the investigative committee as the wrong approach. The BSW receives public rejections almost every minute on Monday.
So why has the BSW maneuvered itself into this situation? Why is it putting a strain on talks with the CDU and SPD? Why does the group want to suffer defeat in Parliament? Zimmermann provides an indication of this: The application for the investigative committee is being submitted “because this is an important point where we are keeping an election promise”.
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Print by Wagenknecht
During the election campaign and afterwards, the BSW leadership declared the committee to be the red line for possible coalition negotiations. On Friday, BSW federal boss Sahra Wagenknecht even intervened – and demanded that it be maintained. In this way, Wagenknecht made it quite clear to her Saxon party friends where she placed the party line.
They are now trying to make the best of the situation. Sabine Zimmermann is currently keeping everything open – including coalition questions. “They are get-to-know-you conversations. This has nothing to do with exploration. We don’t know how this will all turn out.”
LVZ
