09/01/2024September 1, 2024
Foreign policy issues make waves in German state elections
Foreign policy issues, including resolving , have somewhat dominated campaigning ahead of the Thuringia and Saxony state elections in and could be front of mind as residents cast their ballots on Sunday.
Both the far-right (AfD) party and far-left populist have led calls to prioritize peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
AfD politician and Bundestag lawmaker Steffen Janich called for an end to the war for the sake of Ukrainian people.
“You can talk to anyone. You just have to do it. If peace talks are on the horizon, Mr Putin will definitely talk,” Janich told DW.
Many voters are hesitant about Germany’s support for Ukraine. After the US, Germany has been the largest financial backer of Kyiv’s fightback against Russia’s invading forces over the past two and a half years.
In Pirna, a small town between Dresden and the Czech border, many voters would prefer Germany not to get involved.
“The most important thing for me is peace, not an arms race, but dialogue,” one woman told DW.
Another female voter said: “I wish for peace in the world and I would like Germany to not get involved in this war anymore.”
But others DW spoke with said the state government in Saxony, where Pirna is located, should not be involving itself in foreign policy issues.
“Peace is nice but you shouldn’t talk about that to the people here, you should tell it to Mr. Putin,” said one male voter. “You really have to think about what the Saxony government can do and what it can’t.”
Wagenknecht’s new BSW based its entire campaign in eastern Germany around peace between Russia and Ukraine.
This has struck a chord in the eastern states, where nostalgia for the region’s socialist past remains high, and where there’s resentment towards the United States and NATO.
One voter, for example, accused of effectively being in Germany.
According to him, her ultra-left populist party’s position chimes with Putin’s propaganda. But Wagenknecht rejected this accusation at a recent rally in Dresden.
“Don’t let yourselves be fooled by tales that we are Putin’s friends, when are the ones advocating for peace and diplomacy,” she told supporters.
The post Germany’s far-right AfD set for gains in Saxony, Thuringia: exit polls appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
