Revoked Doctorate: Thuringia: BSW Federal Leadership Demands Voigt's Resignation

The BSW-Bundesspitze has called on Thuringian Minister-President Mario Voigt to resign immediately and end the Bromberger coalition in the Free State. In a decision by the party's executive board, the BSW expects Thuringia to no longer support Voigt and create space for an independent minister-president. The background is Voigt's loss of his doctoral title.

AfD faction leader Björn Höcke reacted promptly with a new offer, seeking a suitable candidate to work with the BSW faction. However, BSW in Thuringia remains aligned with Voigt. Steffen Schütz, Thuringia's BSW Infrastructure Minister, said he could see Höcke's offer, but preferred not to. CDU Secretary-General Niklas Wassenberg emphasized that the coalition works well under Voigt's leadership and this will not change.

The BSW parliamentary faction will consider the party's decision on Monday, said Parliamentary Business Director Stefan Wogawa. Wogawa personally considers the demand moot, as it aligns with his stance. Party founder Sahra Wagenknecht and the party's executive board members Amira Mohamed Ali and Fabio De Masi have been working with the Thuringia BSW Landesverband for some time, which governs through a coalition with CDU and SPD, which the Bundesspitze dislikes.

The conflict has now escalated. Wogawa claims that the Bundesspitze is deliberately creating tension to force the Landesverband into a reactive stance. Party chief De Masi said the party hopes Thuringia will relent and has not ruled out further measures. "We will no longer tolerate that a BSW ticket in the Thuringian Landtag does work that undermines the party's credibility."

"Trust Damaged" The BSW Bundesspitze's decision, unanimously adopted on Thursday, states that the executive board demands Voigt's immediate resignation. This is justified by TU Chemnitz's stripping of Voigt's doctoral title, alleging unsanctioned conduct. The Bundesspitze asserts that no double standards should exist in politics.

Voigt has previously faced similar penalties for plagiarism, which has now been confirmed in a review. However, he refuses to resign, damaging the minister-president's office and damaging public trust. "Not Majority Maker" The decision adds that the BSW must not serve as the majority maker for a man who places personal interests above the well-being of the country.

The Bundesspitze expects the BSW faction in Thuringia's Landtag not to continue supporting Voigt and to support an overparty minister-president who governs with shifting majorities in Thuringia. TU Chemnitz announced Voigt's appeal was rejected a few days ago. Voigt's lawyer, however, announced he will file a lawsuit after a legal review.

BSW Chair Katja Wolf had claimed to work in trust with Voigt. The rift within the BSW is deepening further, fueled by Wagenknecht's offers to the AfD to collaborate on individual political projects and potentially allow an AfD minister-president in Sachsen-Anhalt. The Thuringian BSW politician and Landesinfrastrukturminister Schütz said Wagenknecht, De Masi, and Mohamed Ali are crossing lines without inner-party discussion or consensus that he is not ready to tolerate.

The AfD state chief, Höcke, had proposed that AfD and BSW should jointly elect an AfD minister-president in Saxony-Anhalt. Wagenknecht rejected this, citing that Thuringian BSW people would not vote for them. No solution seems in sight. According to the BSW party statutes, the Landesverbände are obliged to "do everything to ensure the unity of the party and refrain from anything that goes against the principles, order, or reputation of the party".

In a last resort, this could include the "dissolution and expulsion of the unit, as well as the dismissal of the executive branch". A higher-ranking BSW politician in Erfurt said that in the Bundestag, they are already considering such measures, possibly even expelling the entire Landesverband, which could lead to unprecedented measures in the Federal Republic of Germany.