BSW Spitzenkandidat Thomas Schulze stated that the BSW will abstain in the third ballot for the election of the Minister-President (governor), effectively allowing an AfD candidate to be elected by a simple majority and rejecting a CDU-led “Brandmauer” (firewall) coalition.
Making the assumption that the AfD takes office and rules under a tolerance or informal agreement model with the BSW, a scenario can be drawn, with the help of AI, on the policy issues and measures that could have immediate effects on the economy and the population. We attempted such an AI-assisted scenario.
Areas of Strong Policy Convergence
Despite the AfD’s right-wing identity roots and the BSW’s left-wing social-economic stance, both parties share strong populist, socially conservative, and Euroskeptic views:
Strict Immigration and Asylum Policies. Both parties push for a complete halt to new arrivals, a drastic increase in deportations of irregular migrants, and replacing cash benefits with payment cards to disincentivize immigration. However, when it comes to actually putting thousands of people on planes, they will quickly hit a brick wall built of international law, federal jurisdiction, and local administrative reality.
Energy Policy and Halting the “Green Transition.” They strongly oppose Berlin’s climate policies. Both defend the use of fossil fuels and internal combustion engines, and oppose the expansion of wind farms.
Pressure for Peace in Ukraine. While foreign policy is a federal matter, both AfD and BSW built their success in the East by demanding an end to weapon deliveries to Ukraine and advocating for diplomacy and renewed energy trade with Russia. They will use the Landtag as a powerful megaphone.
Defunding or Reforming Public Broadcasting (ÖRR). Both parties criticize public broadcasters (like ARD/MDR) as biased, and advocate for cutting or abolishing the mandatory broadcasting fee.
Impact Strategy: Delivering Immediate, Visible Results. To avoid institutional deadlock and demonstrate immediate effectiveness, an AfD-BSW axis could focus on rapid administrative measures and high-impact symbolic policies:
