BSW: program for the 2024 Thuringia state election

The BSW rejects further privatization and outsourcing of hospitals, energy, water and public transit. Health care, housing, energy and water supply are to remain under municipal control and not serve profit-making.

Hospitals, power, water and buses should stay public. The BSW does not want to sell them to private companies. Towns should control them. Nobody should make a profit from them.

The BSW wants better protection for consumers against opaque contracts and terms and conditions. The Thuringian consumer advice center is to receive stable long-term funding and offer its services statewide.

Many contracts are hard to understand. The BSW wants to protect customers better. The consumer advice center should get more money. It should give advice everywhere, also in the countryside.

The BSW wants equal living conditions in urban and rural areas and plans a master plan for the countryside. It includes meeting places in every village, more youth programs and economic development that distributes jobs and investment fairly between cities and rural regions.

Life in the countryside should become attractive again. The BSW wants a big plan for this. Every village should get a meeting place. Young people should have more things to do. Jobs should be created in rural areas too.

The BSW calls for a foreign trade policy built on stable trade ties with many partners rather than on rival blocs and sanctions. In the program's view, sanctions on Russia and climate policy have driven up energy costs and threaten industry and jobs.

The BSW wants trade with many countries. It wants fewer penalties against other countries. These penalties are called sanctions. The BSW says sanctions on Russia made energy more expensive. Germany needs cheap energy and raw materials.

The BSW wants to set up a future fund for industry and the Mittelstand (small and mid-sized businesses) to support innovative Thuringian companies and start-ups. At the same time, the many funding programs should be consolidated and made easy to navigate through a "funding navigator."

The BSW wants a new pot of money for business. It is called a future fund. It should support new ideas from local companies. Young companies should get money too. A funding guide should show all companies what help exists.

The BSW wants to reduce reporting and documentation requirements for businesses and reform public tendering and procurement law. The thresholds above which public contracts must be openly tendered should rise, and founders should be temporarily exempted from regulations.

The BSW wants less red tape for companies. Companies should write fewer reports. Small public contracts should be easier to award. People who start a company should face fewer rules for a while. Crafts trades should get incentives for the master exam.

The BSW wants to link leisure and cultural sites, regional products, restaurants and hotels, modeled on the Thüringer Wald Card, to keep more economic value in the state. Skilled tourism workers are to be retained and recruited. Tourism growth should be balanced with residents' interests.

Thuringia should be even better for visitors. Museums, leisure sites, restaurants and hotels should work together. The model is the Thüringer Wald Card, a regional visitor pass. Tourism lacks workers. The BSW wants to keep them and find new ones.

The BSW wants no worker in Thuringia to earn less than 14 euros an hour. The party also wants to protect industry and cut red tape for small and mid-sized businesses. Families, employees, smaller firms and retirees should be at the center of state policy.

The BSW wants higher wages. Nobody in Thuringia should earn less than 14 euros an hour. Small and mid-sized firms should have less paperwork. Industry should be protected.

The BSW wants better pay and more political recognition for people in social-sector jobs, including through state and municipal funding. This is meant to secure staff for public services and narrow the gender pay gap.

Many people work in social jobs. They often earn little. The BSW wants to pay them more. Most of these workers are women. So women and men should earn more equally.

The BSW wants more Thuringian employers to pay according to collective agreements and wants better wages and working conditions. In the program's view, Thuringia should stop being a low-wage state and an "extended workbench" for West German corporations.

People in Thuringia earn less than elsewhere. Often there is no union contract. Such a contract sets fair pay and vacation. The BSW wants more of these contracts. Pay and jobs should get better.

The BSW calls for a pension system modeled on Austria's, into which all working people pay, including civil servants, the self-employed and legislators. Pension taxation should also be abolished, and statutory pensions below 2,000 euros should in any case remain tax-free.

The BSW wants a pension system like Austria's. Pensions there are higher. Everyone should pay into it. This includes civil servants and self-employed people. Pensions under 2,000 euros should not be taxed.

The BSW wants a full audit of state finances and a review of the administration and state programs to see which are needed. At the same time, state assets such as land and museum collections should be used more to develop Thuringia.

The BSW wants to check how much money the state has. The administration should be reviewed too. State programs should be checked to see if they are needed. Land owned by the state should provide cheap energy. Art from museum storage should attract tourists.

The BSW wants Thuringia to launch an initiative in the Bundesrat (the federal council of states) to bring back a wealth tax on multimillionaires and billionaires. The revenue would go to the states for education, hospitals and school buildings.

The BSW wants a tax on very large fortunes. This tax does not exist today. Only very rich people would pay it. Thuringia should propose it in the Bundesrat. The money should go to schools and hospitals.

The BSW demands that the new property tax rules not raise overall revenue. Citizens should not end up paying more, in line with what the program says was promised politically.

The property tax is getting new rules. Owners of homes and land pay this tax. The BSW wants the state to collect no extra money from it. Citizens should not pay more.

The BSW rejects federal requirements such as the Heizungsgesetz (heating law) and wants to relieve homeowners through Thuringia's own rules. Instead it calls for a funding program, "Thüringer Land – Wohnen Sozial," for energy-efficiency renovations by low-income owners and families.

The heating law is a federal law. It sets rules for new heating systems. The BSW is against it. Homeowners should carry less burden. Families and people with little money should get help with renovations.

The BSW wants to create twice as many social housing units each year as now, through new construction and full renovation, including on suitable state-owned land. Municipal housing companies and cooperatives should be strengthened and building permits sped up.

Housing must be affordable. The BSW wants to build twice as many social housing units. State-owned land can be used for this. Towns and housing co-ops should build more. Building permits should come faster.

The BSW calls for smaller groups and better staff-to-child ratios in daycare centers and after-school programs so working parents are not disadvantaged. It also wants mandatory language support for the youngest children to prepare them for school.

Parents should be able to work well. For that, they need good daycare. The BSW wants smaller groups. There should be more staff for the children. Small children should get required language lessons.

The BSW wants mandatory German tests for all children from age three. If gaps are found, attending daycare or preschool should become compulsory. It also wants a binding kindergarten curriculum and compulsory preschool education for all children.

All children aged three and up should take a German test. This should be required. If a child's German is weak, daycare becomes required. Kindergartens should get a set study plan.

The BSW wants primary schools to focus again on reading, writing, and arithmetic and on the rules of standard German, including a ban on gender-inclusive language. Smartphones and tablets should be kept out of classrooms through the end of primary school. Thuringia should become the first state where all primary school leavers master these skills.

The BSW wants kids to learn reading, writing, and math well. Gender-inclusive language should be banned in schools. Phones and tablets should stay out of primary classrooms. Kids should learn proper cursive writing.

The BSW considers switching school types after fourth grade too early and wants children to learn together longer. At the same time, it wants to keep the tiered school system and boost the Regelschule (secondary school) and the intermediate diploma. Creative, artistic, and musical learning should be promoted.

Children should learn together for longer. The BSW thinks switching schools after grade 4 is too early. Different school types should still exist. The Regelschule should get stronger.

The BSW wants free lunch for all children in daycare centers and primary schools. The demand applies regardless of parents' income.

All kids in daycare and primary school should get free lunch. This should apply to every child. Parents' income does not matter.

The BSW wants a binding, practice-oriented curriculum for teacher training degrees. Thuringia should become an attractive employer for teachers, with promotions and career paths. More staff, more funding, and less paperwork should prevent canceled classes.

Teachers should get better training. Their degree should follow a fixed plan. Teachers should get promoted more easily. More staff should help so no classes get canceled.

The BSW wants to strengthen inclusive education and provide enough staff so that children with disabilities can attend regular classes. Children with learning difficulties such as dyslexia or dyscalculia should be supported through a statewide network of therapists.

Kids with disabilities should be able to join regular classes. This needs more staff. Some kids struggle with reading or math. They should get more therapy options.

The BSW wants to keep special-needs schools and give support centers more lasting backing. New tools are meant to help people with disabilities move into vocational training and the regular job market, partly to address labor shortages.

The BSW wants to keep special-needs schools. Support centers should get more help. People with disabilities should find training more easily. They should also find regular jobs more easily. This should also help with missing skilled workers.

The BSW wants practical digital and media literacy to carry more weight in teaching after primary school. New teaching concepts and up-to-date technology are to be brought into schools for this purpose.

Children should know how to use computers and media well. They should learn more about this after primary school. This needs new ways of teaching. Schools should also get modern equipment.

The BSW wants to combine education and science in a single ministry and to maintain and expand the research landscape. Mandatory permanent full-time positions are to be created for ongoing tasks at universities, since the program sees many mid-level academic jobs as precarious.

Education and science should be in one ministry. The BSW wants to make research in Thuringia stronger. Many university staff only have short contracts. Permanent tasks should get permanent full-time jobs. Young researchers could then plan better.

The BSW wants to push at the federal level for far fewer health insurance funds and to keep contribution rates from rising in the coming years. In the program's view there is enough money in the system, and two-tier medicine should be overcome.

Germany has almost 100 public health insurers. They offer almost the same things. This costs a lot of money for paperwork. The BSW wants far fewer insurers. Contributions should not go up.

The BSW wants to bundle outpatient specialist care in easily reachable centers, similar to the former East German polyclinics. At the same time, the hospital reform should be implemented in a way that preserves basic care, especially in rural areas.

Specialist doctors should work together in one center. That is how the old polyclinics worked. The centers should be easy to reach. Hospitals in the countryside should still offer good basic care.

Doctors trained in Jena or at private universities should commit through funding programs to work in Thuringia for five to ten years. The BSW also wants to strengthen telemedicine, prevention and health education.

Thuringia needs more doctors. People who study medicine in Jena should then work in Thuringia. This should last five to ten years. Funding programs help with this. Video doctor visits and prevention should also grow.

The BSW wants a cap on nursing home costs: residents' own share should not exceed the average pension. In the program's view, sharply rising co-payments have turned nursing homes into a poverty trap.

A place in a nursing home is very expensive. Many people become poor because of it. The BSW wants a limit on the costs. Residents should pay no more than an average pension. The state and federal government should cover the rest.

The BSW wants to control and limit migration, by its own account without discrimination. Anyone who breaks the law should have to leave the country. The party affirms the right to asylum, puts integration first and ties intake to the state's capacity.

The BSW wants less immigration. Immigration should be controlled. People who commit crimes should have to leave Germany. The right to asylum should stay. The party cares about migrants fitting in well.

The BSW wants to stop what it calls uncontrolled migration. Asylum applications should be filed and decided at the EU's external borders and in third countries. Only people granted protection should receive support and social benefits in Germany.

The BSW wants less immigration. Asylum claims should be checked outside Germany. This should happen at the EU's outer borders. Or in other countries outside the EU. Only people with protection should get money here.

The BSW wants to systematically ensure that people required to leave, those without residence status, and migrants who commit crimes leave the country. Asylum seekers obliged to leave should receive only the constitutionally required subsistence minimum, as in-kind benefits. A payment card should make transfers abroad harder.

Some people must leave Germany. The BSW wants them to actually leave. Criminals should be deported. People who must leave should get goods, not cash. A payment card should make sending money abroad harder.

The BSW wants foreign qualifications recognized when they match German standards, followed by prompt work permits. Asylum seekers should take on simple jobs while their case is pending. This is meant to ease the burden on social systems and help integration.

The BSW wants immigrants to start working sooner. Foreign degrees should be accepted more easily. They must match German standards. Asylum seekers should do simple jobs early on.

The BSW wants a state law requiring that, with equal qualifications, at least half of newly filled public-sector jobs go to East German applicants. The rule should be temporary and also cover research and culture. The party cites the underrepresentation of East Germans in leading positions.

The BSW wants more East Germans in important jobs. At least every second new public job should go to East Germans. This applies if applicants are equally qualified. The rule should only last for a limited time.

The BSW wants better protection for women and children against violence. Women's shelters should be available everywhere with more state support, and an action plan is to implement the Istanbul Convention.

Women and children should be better protected from violence. There should be women's shelters everywhere. Women find safety there. The state should give more money for them.

The BSW wants to create new tools that help people with disabilities enter vocational training or regular employment. Public offices, cultural venues and public transit should also become barrier-free, and the Bundesteilhabegesetz (Federal Participation Act) should be implemented, with the federal government covering the extra costs.

People with disabilities should find work more easily. The BSW wants new kinds of help for this. Offices, buses and museums should have no barriers. Support money for blind and deaf people should rise with prices. Offices should offer more texts in plain language.

The BSW rejects a blanket permission for wind turbines in forests. Local governments and regions, together with forest owners and businesses, should decide for themselves whether and where wind power is built, since in the program's view they know local needs best.

The BSW does not want wind turbines allowed in all forests. Towns should decide for themselves. They know best what is needed locally. Forest owners and companies should have a say too.

The BSW wants to cut energy costs in Thuringia, which it considers too high compared with other states, partly by equalizing grid fees across states. Small and mid-sized businesses struggling with energy costs should get targeted support, and citizens should share in the profits from power generation.

The BSW wants cheaper energy in Thuringia. Grid fees should be the same in all states. Small companies should get money to make their own power. Citizens should share in profits from green power. Farmers should get help making solar and biogas power.

The BSW wants to achieve climate and environmental protection mainly through technology-neutral innovations that can be implemented quickly, and to make Thuringia a leader in storage technologies for renewable energy. In the program's view, rash measures endanger the economy and public support for climate action; it rejects red tape imposed in the name of climate protection.

The BSW wants to protect the climate with new technology. No technology should be ruled out. Thuringia should develop good storage for green power. The BSW rejects many climate rules. Climate protection should not make life more expensive.

The BSW wants better funding for sewage connections in rural areas and a review of wastewater rules to ease the burden on those responsible for disposal. Rivers and lakes should also be brought into good condition under the EU Water Framework Directive.

The BSW wants more homes in the countryside linked to sewers. There should be more money for this. The rules for wastewater should be checked. Rivers and lakes should become cleaner and more natural. Less salt from mining should go into rivers.

The BSW wants to preserve existing reservoirs and ponds and make it easier to build new ones, so water can be held back for dry summers. Together with local governments, it plans to expand funding for protection against heavy rainfall.

The BSW wants to store more water. Ponds and reservoirs should stay. New ones should be easier to build. This water helps in dry summers. The state should also do more against heavy rain.

The BSW wants groundwater withdrawals limited to the amount that naturally recharges and wants groundwater protected from pollution. Using the state's compensation ordinance, Thuringia is to move toward the goal of zero net new land sealing. A pool of land freed up by demolishing unused buildings would let companies offset their projects quickly.

The BSW wants to protect groundwater. People should not pump out more than comes back. Less land should be covered with concrete. Old, unused buildings should be torn down. Companies can then use that land to make up for their own construction.

The BSW wants a mining ordinance requiring mining companies to set aside insolvency-proof reserves to clean up after extraction ends. The reason given is renewed interest from mining firms in Thuringia's mineral deposits. Energy companies would also have to pay part of their profits into a restoration fund to compensate for the land they use.

Mining companies should save money in advance. That money pays to fix the damage later. The money should stay safe even if the company goes bankrupt. Energy companies should pay too. They use up land. The money goes into a fund for nature.

The BSW opposes a nuclear waste repository in Thuringia. It argues that the state never had a nuclear power plant and already bears above-average costs from past uranium mining. With federal help, uranium-mining legacy sites outside the remit of Wismut are to be cleaned up.

The BSW does not want a nuclear waste site in Thuringia. Thuringia never had a nuclear power plant. Uranium was mined here in the past. That caused a lot of damage. The federal government should help clean it up.

The BSW wants better funding for recognized conservation groups so they can contribute their expertise to public consultation procedures. The Natura 2000 stations are to be kept and given a project budget. Animal shelters would receive support not only for investments but also for running costs.

The BSW wants to give nature groups more support. They should have a say in plans. Certain nature stations should stay and get money for projects. Animal shelters should also get money for their daily costs.

The BSW opposes new burdens on farmers, such as the federal government's cuts to the farm diesel subsidy. A master plan is meant to give livestock farms much more support so that animal production does not move to countries with weaker animal welfare standards. Barn permits should remain valid until the barn is fully depreciated.

The BSW does not want more burdens on farmers. It opposes cuts to help with farm diesel. That is fuel for tractors. Farms with animals should get more help. A permit for a barn should last a long time.

The BSW believes Thuringia's farmers have too little market power compared with processors and retail chains. It wants to support regional value chains and move agricultural marketing into a separate company for Thuringia or central Germany. The Thuringian quality label and funding for producer associations would be reinstated.

Farmers have little power against big store chains. The BSW wants to change that. Farmers should sell more of their goods locally. A separate company should advertise Thuringian products. A Thuringian quality label should come back.

The BSW wants to cut red tape in farming and forestry, based on proposals from the farmers' association and the conference of agriculture ministers. The nutrient flow balance requirement would be scrapped. At the federal level, the BSW wants to abolish Grundsteuer A (property tax on farm and forest land), arguing it costs more effort than it raises.

The BSW wants less paperwork for farmers. One record-keeping rule should go away. Farms now have to write down how many nutrients they use. A tax on farm and forest land should also go away.

The BSW wants to make the forest area payment permanent, on condition that owners replant and convert their forests. The program cites damage from drought, bark beetles and inadequate forest protection. Forest land with unknown owners is to be brought back under management by law.

Many forests in Thuringia are damaged. Drought and bark beetles caused this. Forest owners should get money for good. In return, they must plant new trees. Forests with unknown owners should also be looked after.

The BSW wants more funding and a master plan for public transit so that buses and trains run on time and regularly, especially in rural areas. Regional rail is to be expanded, with a regional S-Bahn along Thuringia's chain of cities. A "Thüringen Ticket Sozial" would offer a discount on the Deutschlandticket (national transit pass) for low-income residents, school pupils and university students.

Buses and trains should run more often and on time. This matters most in the countryside. There should be more money and a big plan for this. A commuter train should link the larger cities. People with little money should get a cheaper ticket.

The BSW wants to implement Thuringia's cycling strategy with more state money for counties and municipalities. Every train station should get secure bike parking, and bike paths should be built as standard when state roads are renovated. The program sees potential in both everyday and tourist cycling.

The BSW wants more bike paths. Counties and towns should get more state money for them. Every train station should have safe bike parking. When a road is fixed, a bike path gets added. Children should practice safe cycling at school.

The BSW wants to reverse the ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035. Under the slogan "incentives instead of bans," the auto industry is to resume research into more fuel-efficient engines and cheaper synthetic fuels. The program sees lifting the ban as a precondition for this.

From 2035, no new gas or diesel cars may be sold. The BSW wants to end this ban. Car companies should build better engines. These engines should use less fuel. Cheaper man-made fuels should also be developed.

The BSW wants to make the renovation and expansion of existing roads a focus of transport policy. Bypasses and free commuter parking at highway ramps and rural transit hubs are to be supported. Planning approval procedures for transport projects should be faster.

Many roads in Thuringia are in bad shape. The BSW wants to fix and widen them. Bypass roads should be built around villages. Commuters should be able to park for free. Plans for new roads and rail lines should get approved faster.

The BSW wants to modernize the state administration in staffing, technology and structure and make Thuringia a digital leader. Administrative success is to be measured by permits granted, and leadership posts are to be filled based on competence rather than party membership.

Public offices should become more modern and digital. Thuringia should lead the way. There should still be people to talk to. Offices should help make things possible. Agency bosses should be chosen for their skills. Party membership should not count.

The BSW wants to launch a digitalization drive for small and mid-sized businesses and expand fast internet across Thuringia, including rural areas. It cites a large digital gap, especially in the crafts trades.

The BSW wants fast internet in all of Thuringia. Villages should get it too. All schools should have fast internet. Small companies should get help going digital. This includes training and funding.

The BSW wants a more visible police presence, more positions especially for patrol and investigative units, and better equipment. Attacks on police and emergency workers should be punished consistently, while the state domestic intelligence agency should face more democratic oversight.

There should be more police on the streets. The police should get more staff and better gear. People who attack police or rescue workers should be punished. The Verfassungsschutz should be watched more closely. It is the state's domestic intelligence agency.

The BSW wants the state to give more support to fire departments, the DLRG lifesaving society, disaster relief and emergency medical services, arguing that municipalities often cannot handle the costs. Volunteer fire departments in rural areas should get help from paid professional staff.

Fire and rescue services should get more help from the state. Towns often cannot pay the costs alone. Volunteer fire departments in the countryside should get paid helpers. The state fire academy should offer more training spots.

The BSW believes investigators and prosecutors are not adequately prepared for challenges posed by AI and cybercrime. It therefore wants to create a specialized prosecution office and draw up rules for dealing with artificial intelligence.

There is more and more crime on the internet. The BSW wants a special prosecutors' office for it. It should deal only with these crimes. There should also be rules for artificial intelligence.

The BSW wants early crime prevention that teaches young people to take responsibility for their actions. More school social workers and street workers are to be deployed, and justice topics are to get more attention in class.

Children and teens should learn early to take responsibility. This should lead to less crime. There should be more social workers at schools. Students should visit courts.

The BSW wants to expand direct democracy in Thuringia's constitution. Citizens' initiatives should be allowed to decide on issues with financial consequences. Modeled on Switzerland, citizens should be able to block or correct laws passed by the state parliament.

The BSW wants citizens to decide more things themselves. In a citizens' initiative, people vote on a question. This should also work for questions about money. Citizens should also be able to stop laws from parliament.

The BSW wants new rules, regulations and ordinances in Thuringia to undergo a 100-day review first. During that time, citizens should be able to raise objections and prevent them from taking effect. The party argues that out-of-touch regulations undermine trust in institutions.

New rules should wait 100 days first. During that time, citizens can object. Then a new rule can be stopped. Thuringia should be the first state to do this.

The BSW wants a state parliamentary inquiry committee to review COVID policy. In its view, fundamental rights were restricted to an unprecedented degree and many measures lacked a scientific basis. The goal also includes recommendations for future pandemics.

The BSW wants a close look at the COVID years. The state parliament should set up a committee. The BSW thinks many rules were wrong. Lessons should help in future pandemics.

The BSW wants a fundamental reform of municipal finances based on actual needs, since local governments rely heavily on cyclical taxes. Municipalities are to set their own spending priorities and receive no new tasks without full funding.

Towns and districts should get enough money. The money should match their needs. Towns should decide for themselves what to spend on. New tasks only come with enough money. The state administration office should help the towns.

The BSW wants more cooperation among municipalities, stronger local self-government and a reform of municipal funding. Towns that provide services for neighboring communities are to receive more support.

Towns should work together more. They should decide more things on their own. The money for towns should be organized in a new way. Applying for grants should be easier.

The BSW wants more judges, prosecutors and prison staff, along with digitization, to clear court backlogs. Sentences should be enforced faster, and the program rejects private operators in the prison system.

Courts have too many open cases. The BSW wants more judges and prosecutors. The work should become more digital. Punishment should come faster. Private companies should not run prisons.

The BSW wants publicly funded legal advice centers, especially in rural areas, so that good advice does not depend on income. Knowledge of one's own rights should be taught more, starting in school.

Good legal advice should not depend on money. The BSW wants advice centers paid for by the state. This matters most in rural areas. Children should learn more about their rights at school.

The BSW condemns Russia's attack on Ukraine but calls for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations without preconditions. The federal government should take its own diplomatic initiative to that end. In the party's view, arms deliveries have failed and sanctions mainly hurt the German economy.

The BSW wants the war in Ukraine to end soon. The fighting should stop right away. Then both sides should talk. The German government should help with this. The BSW thinks sending weapons is wrong.

The BSW wants the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) properly equipped but opposes enlarging it or arming up. Instead of confrontation, the party calls for de-escalation, new disarmament treaties and shared security in Europe. It views the deployment of combat units to NATO's eastern flank with concern.

The BSW wants a well-equipped German army. But the army should not grow bigger. The BSW wants fewer weapons in Europe. New treaties should help with that. Countries should work together for security.

The BSW opposes what it sees as a creeping militarization of schools. The Bundeswehr should not recruit young people at Thuringia's schools, since it has its own information centers. There should be no military or civil defense lessons in schools.

The BSW wants the army out of schools. The army should not recruit young people there. The army has its own advice centers for that. There should also be no lessons about war and defense.

The BSW wants a parliamentary study commission (Enquete-Kommission) to examine whether public broadcasters report objectively and independently of government. The program cites accusations of one-sided coverage of COVID and the Ukraine war. The commission should also propose ways to strengthen diversity of opinion.

The BSW wants public broadcasters to be checked. The state parliament should set up a commission. It should check if the broadcasters report fairly. The BSW thinks coverage of COVID and Ukraine was one-sided.

The BSW wants to give students a culture card granting free entry to cultural institutions and rejects further cuts to cultural spending. The program sees support for culture as support for democracy.

Students should get a culture card. With it, they get into museums and theaters for free. The BSW does not want to cut money for culture. Rural areas should also have good culture. Artists should have fair working conditions.

The BSW wants to promote intercultural and interfaith dialogue and understanding between nations, especially in times of war. Partnerships, youth exchanges and local peace initiatives are also to receive state support.

The BSW wants people from many countries to understand each other better. This matters especially in times of war. Town partnerships should continue. Youth exchanges should grow. The state should support towns' peace projects.

The BSW wants to improve conditions for volunteer work. Board members should be exempt from liability or have limited liability, and qualification requirements should stay reasonable. The Thuringian Volunteering Foundation should be strengthened.

Many people volunteer in clubs. The BSW wants to make this easier. Board members should face less legal risk. Thuringia's volunteer foundation should get more support.

The BSW wants reliable funding for grassroots and elite sports in Thuringia. Funding from lottery revenue should be adjusted regularly for inflation, and supporting sports should become a mandatory duty of local governments.

The BSW wants more support for sports in Thuringia. Money from the lottery should rise with prices. Towns should be required to support sports. Sports fields and gyms should get more money for building and repairs. Coaches in top-level sports should be paid better.