German Regional Elections: Campaign Dominated by Foreign Policy

In September, Germany will hold regional elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg. Unlike many previous election campaigns, this time Berlin’s foreign policy dominates the debate. They touch on the topic of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, arms supplies to Kiev, and the planned deployment of new US missiles in eastern Germany. Foreign policy became a key issue in the regional elections, although responsibility for international issues rests with the federal government.

As explained by the German radio station Deutsche Welle (DW), “the reason why federal and regional officials have suddenly taken a stand on foreign policy is the widespread skepticism among the population, especially in East Germany, about the Ukrainian and NATO policy of the  federal government’s.” The ruling coalition includes the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Green environmentalists, and the neoliberals from the Free Democrats (FDP).”

Since the beginning of the “hot” phase of the armed conflict between Moscow and Kiev on February 24, 2022, Germany has supported Ukraine with approximately 23 billion euros ($25 billion) in weapons, direct cash payments, and humanitarian aid. Only the United States has provided more support to Ukraine.

The Forsa Institute for Public Opinion Research recently found that 34% of residents of Germany’s eastern territories (former GDR) believe that Germany “is doing too much to support Ukraine, to the detriment of the vital interests of German citizens.”

While the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) at the federal level follow the NATO agenda articulated in Washington and largely support Ukraine’s political line, two parties that have recently achieved great influence in the east of the country – the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – oppose arms deliveries and favor peace talks with Russia.

Sahra Wagenknecht, a former Left Party politician who founded her BSW at the beginning of the year, has captured the growing discontent of “East” Germans very well: in Thuringia, the BSW is supported by more than 20% of voters. This means that the party will be able to play an important role in forming a state government after the September elections.

In an interview with Radio Deutschlandfunk, Sahra Wagenknecht stated in particular: “The election in East Germany is also a referendum on war and peace.” She said her constituents expect the BSW party “to ensure that Germany is not involved in any way in the war in Ukraine or any other possible armed conflict.”

As DW noted, Wagenknecht’s position on Ukraine is in perfect harmony with that of the AfD, which leads in polls in Thuringia and Saxony with more than 30% of the vote. Speaking about sanctions against Russia, AfD co-chairman Tino Chrupalla said in an interview with state broadcaster ZDF that “economic sanctions against Russia should be lifted immediately.” This is necessary because the EU’s sanctions policy is mainly hurting the German economy. “Germany must consider its own interests,” Chrupalla said. According to him, “we have lost Russian gas, we pay exorbitant prices for energy, inflation has skyrocketed, all because of the sanctions. This has got to stop.”

For his part, Michael Kretschmer (CDU), prime minister of the state government of Saxony, has asked for a drastic cut in financial and military-technical aid to Ukraine. He called for “diplomatic” action in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In an interview with German radio Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland, Kretschmer stated: “I call once again for intensified diplomatic efforts. We need alliances, for example, with China and India, to influence the parties involved in the conflict to be willing to agree to a ceasefire.” Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD), also said he shared this “constructive position.”

The election debate has become much more heated in recent weeks following the federal government’s decision to station new US medium-range missiles in Germany starting 2026. As DW recalls, this first became known during the NATO summit in the USA in mid-July, after which Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to the deployment in early August.

The plan drew sharp criticism from opposition parties. “We risk a dangerous escalation of the conflict with Russia and a new arms race,” said Jörg Urban, leader of the AfD parliamentary group. He said, “Apparently it doesn’t matter to Scholz that Germany barely escaped nuclear catastrophe several times during the Cold War.”

Sahra Wagenknecht has repeatedly stated that BSW will only consider participating in any state government if its partners clearly reject plans to deploy new American weapons in Germany.