Thuringia | BSW: "Many are waiting to be able to really join us"

In recent weeks , the BSW's federal executive board and the Thuringian state leadership have clashed so fiercely that the current BSW state chairman, Steffen Schütz, ultimately decided not to run for re-election. At the same time, however, he announced his intention to soon join the BSW's federal executive board—the very body where some people dislike him so much. Mr. Schütz, are you a vindictive person?

Please? No, not at all. It's not in my nature. I may be resentful sometimes, but the older you get, the more such traits fade away.

Interesting. So, after your forced departure from the state chairmanship of the BSW, you announced your intention to run for your party's federal executive board, not out of vindictiveness, but because you hold a grudge?

No! Not at all. Of course, I was saddened by how some in our party have treated Katja Wolf and me in recent weeks. The escalation surrounding our party conference was completely unnecessary. By resigning, I wanted to build bridges. Forgoing my candidacy wasn't easy for me. I truly enjoyed being state chairman. But this wasn't about me; it was about the BSW and Thuringia.

Then please explain how you came up with the idea of ​​applying for a position on the federal executive committee of your party – when this very same federal executive committee would not even tolerate you as state chairman.

Even before the debate about who should lead the Thuringian BSW regional association in the future, Katja Wolf and I had contacted the other eastern German regional associations of our party to discuss how we, as eastern Germans, wanted to be represented on the federal executive board in the future. It quickly became clear that I could be a representative of the east on the federal executive board. I lived in Berlin for a long time, I am familiar with the structures there, and I know how important the experiences of transformation during the fall of the Berlin Wall are for many eastern Germans. Furthermore, many in the eastern German regional associations share my assessment that our focus in the federal election campaign was too monothematic, that we talked too little about education and the economy, for example. Furthermore, as Thuringia's Digital Minister, I would provide important impetus to the federal executive board. In this respect, my application for the federal executive board has nothing to do with my decision not to run for state chairman again; that had been planned for some time.

But don't you have to fear that the people who currently sit on the party's federal executive committee will still perceive your application as exactly that: as revenge or as a kick in the teeth for the fact that this federal executive committee put so much pressure on you and ultimately didn't apply again for the position of state chairman in Thuringia?

Some might say: That fits my image of Schütz. But others there know me better and know that's not the case. Honestly, it's not that important to me. I didn't go into politics because I was looking for friends. Or because I felt I needed any important positions. I went into politics because I wanted to make a difference. That's where you get into trouble.

Do you really believe that your candidacy will be successful?

I don't know. I can certainly imagine it will be difficult. Some people will probably think: He's Ms. Wolf's best friend, we can't vote for him. If that's how it turns out, then that's how it is.

You said you really enjoyed the position of BSW state chairman. Why?

Because I felt like we were working together on a major task. I really enjoyed traveling around the districts and independent cities and meeting with our supporters and members. The sense of new beginnings we always had was fantastic. I met so many incredibly dedicated people. The things they wrote to me really touched my heart.

You mean the nice things they wrote to you after it became clear that you were stepping down from the state presidency?

Yes.

At least you now have more time for other things in life. Or has your life lost its meaning?

No, that's not the case either. And there's also a positive side to me no longer being the state chairman: I'm not in quite as many signal groups anymore...

… through which much of the BSW’s internal communication takes place?!

Exactly. I may be the Minister for Digital, but I value direct communication more than digital communication.

However, one would think that as a minister in the state government, you have enough to do. Among other things, you have to address the rather poor digitization in Thuringia so far. This isn't the only issue that gives the impression that the Blackberry coalition (CDU, SPD, and BSW) has already reached the slog after four months in government and is dragging its feet.

That's what you said. But yes, I've arrived, albeit not in the way you expect.

Aha. How?

I think I've developed a pretty good rapport with the employees in my company, even though I come from a business background and two worlds sometimes collide. There's only one thing I absolutely reject, and word has already gotten around.

That would?

If someone in my house tells me: That's not possible, I want to know why it's supposedly not possible and expect them to explain to me what can be done instead.

It's also very popular in administration to explain to superiors that things might work, but only in a few years. Is that why we still don't have the citizens' councils that you promised your constituents as BSW state chairman? You actually wanted to introduce these bodies in the first 100 days of the Blackberry government.

The 100 days have been over for a few weeks now…

And that is why Ms. Wolf, in her capacity as Finance Minister, just had to declare that the promised relief from property taxes will not come until 2027 at the earliest?

We just can't do everything at once. We don't have citizens' councils yet because we first had to take care of preparing the state budget for 2025, and we're already in the process of preparing the budgets for 2026 and 2027. We're currently busy with digitalization and administrative reform; after all, we have to work very hard on securing jobs. Especially in the automotive supply industry, a lot of jobs are being lost.

This won't matter much to BSW voters and supporters. They wanted citizens' councils to talk about peace – immediately.

That's true, and I can understand it. But I'm against any form of label politics. It's of no use to us if we quickly set up two or three citizens' councils that achieve nothing. There needs to be a sophisticated concept behind it.

And you think your followers see it that way too?

I have the feeling that this is resonating with them, especially because we as a party are in the process of solving our membership recruitment problem. For many of our supporters, this is the most important thing of all...

… because they want to participate in the party?

Yes, many people are waiting to be able to really join us and change things for the better.