SAHRA WAGENKNECHT: "We are a power factor in Germany!"

Let's take a look at how we see it with the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance. Yesterday was of course a big day for the party . We have become a power factor in Germany. A party that didn't even exist a year ago, that was founded in January, has so much popularity, so much support from people in two federal states, which can now be proven through elections, not just surveys. This allows us to make a difference. Of course, it is also an enormous responsibility because people, and I also felt this during the election campaign, have great hope in us and also have great expectations of us. And if we look at the election results as a whole, we can of course not only celebrate, that's what we have to say, but these election results, including our great election success, are of course also an expression of the mood in Germany and also the situation. And I think that should give all the parties, especially those that have governed Germany in recent years, at the federal level but also at the state level, a lot to think about, because that's how people vote. The fact that the AfD has achieved these results also has something to do with how many people are dissatisfied, how many people have turned away from the parties that were always described as the established ones, and which are no longer so established , at least in Thuringia and Saxony, how few people can still trust these parties and how many feel politically let down. And of course the election result is a mandate, now in these two federal states. Only then do we have the chance to help shape something. At the federal level, the traffic light must see how it evaluates this and whether it sees this as a mandate to clear the way for other political conditions as quickly as possible . But in the two states it is a task to form governments that really represent the people again, where those who live in the states, in Saxony and in Thuringia, say that we are now being governed well again. The schools are working again, not overnight, but something changes when classes are canceled, there are more teachers. Things are changing in internal security, there are more police on the streets, especially in problem areas. Something is changing with integration, for example there are compulsory German tests for children, so that the situation is gradually being reduced where school classes start and more than half of the children cannot speak German. But something is also changing in federal politics, and Sabine has already mentioned it. A big issue in this election campaign is of course the question of war and peace, and people also expect state governments to reflect their position and their majority opinion on this point. And here too, surveys are very clear. We also commissioned a survey together with Alice Schwarzer shortly before the election. Half of the people in Germany are afraid of being drawn into a major war. A majority in the East, and two thirds in the East, according to a survey by Forsa, reject the US missile plans. I think that the election results make it very clear that state governments have to raise their voices, they can't make this decision, but they have to put their weight into the national political arena to change this. And of course it's clear that these state elections, or were they also about federal policy, are not just about the question of war and peace, but of course there is also dissatisfaction with a federal government that rules bypassing the people on basically all issues, whether with migration, with energy policy, with basically the entire social issue. I mean, in a country where food prices rise by 33% in two years, where the purchasing power of wages is falling, where the purchasing power of pensions is falling, in a country like this you shouldn't be surprised that those who govern are being punished . And they are rightly punished. We are very happy that we were able to convince many people who were dissatisfied to choose us, to give us their trust, and we will now do everything do our best to translate this into good government work at the state level. But of course this requires partners, and I also say very clearly: what helps the AfD the most are bad governments, and we will not support bad governments because that is exactly what always brings new electoral successes for a party whose strength is now increasing of course also manifested itself again on Sunday . Okay, now let’s get to your questions. I have to rely a little on your self-organization back there because the view really isn't that good from here. By the way, we have hall microphones and I would ask you to use them, as the sound will also be recorded. In any case, I already had Ms. Schmidt-Roschmann, Ms. Maura and Ms. Palzer, and then a number of others have already contacted me, but first in the order of Ms. Schmidt-Roschmann. Please. Thanks to Schmidt-Roschmann from the dpa. Where do you see the points of contact, the intersections with your possible coalition partner, the Union? Thank you very much. Yes, I mean, you have to explore them in conversations, of course. If you look at the programs on site, the Union has also addressed the problem, including in Thuringia, especially because the problems are even more acute there, but also in Saxony, that classes are canceled, that more teachers are needed, that we also need a different focus here. So maybe there are similarities there. When it comes to internal security, the Union has even made that a big issue, according to Solingen. However, the question is how credible. Obviously, many people didn't buy that because the Union had a completely different position on these issues just a few years ago. But that would certainly be the case if there were perhaps some overlap. But we also have to talk about the fact that there should of course not be any social cuts in these countries. I mean, the question is: If you finance something more, where does the money come from, how do you do it? You should delete unnecessary things, for example in the ministries. But we need efficient administrations, we need to reduce bureaucracy. The Union also says this in its Sunday speeches , but so far it has not stood out in any positive way on this issue in any of these federal states. So, we'll see, we have to talk to each other. It probably won't be a two-party coalition, as it looks. This means that there will be several partners sitting at the table. I hope that everyone realizes that something has to be noticeably improved for the people in the federal states and that this government actually has to send a new beginning, a signal of departure, because only if we somehow pull ourselves together and somehow agree on it in the end, who gets which ministerial post and nothing actually changes, anyone who wants that didn't understand what the signal from yesterday's elections was.