• BSW founder accuses AfD of sabotaging talks on future cooperation in Saxony-Anhalt.
• AfD won nearly 44% of the vote in regional elections but faces rejection from mainstream parties for cooperation due to its far-right stance.
• BSW is open to supporting an AfD minority government on certain issues but rules out forming a coalition, citing concerns over the far-right party's positions on peace and military industry.

The founder of a minor populist party that has emerged as a potential kingmaker following elections in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt has accused the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) of sabotaging talks on future cooperation.

The anti-immigrant AfD resoundingly won the regional elections on September 6 with nearly 44% of the vote, falling just short of an absolute majority.

However, its path to government has been rocky, as all mainstream parties have rejected entering talks on cooperating with the party in line with a policy known as the "firewall" against the far right.

The only exception is the populist BSW, which surprisingly cleared the 5% hurdle needed to take seats and accepted the AfD's invitation to hold talks.

While the BSW has ruled out forming a coalition with the AfD, it has said it is open to support an AfD minority government and work together on issues where they align, including energy supply, education and "peace policy."

BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht reaffirmed that stance on Wednesday, but accused the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt of trying to "derail the talks through public provocations."

"Some within the AfD seem to be terrified at the prospect of having to prove themselves on substantive issues for the first time without a protective firewall – for example: do they want to promote peace or support the arms industry?" Wagenknecht told dpa.

Wagenknecht was referring to comments made by AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund last week in which he linked a planned deportation drive to the availability of military equipment.

Asked by a journalist on Thursday about plans by Israeli arms company Elbit Systems to set up a production facility in the state, Siegmund responded: "We do not demonize the production of military equipment across the board, because we will, of course, need the necessary resources for [our] planned campaign of remigration and deportation."

The BSW, which split from The Left party in 2024, which in turn emerged from the communist party that governed the former East Germany, strongly opposes military aid to Ukraine. It also opposes Germany's new rearmament drive launched to counter the growing threat emanating from Russia.