For the first time in the history of Germany, a politician from the Alternative for Germany party holds the position of Speaker of a state parliament, as the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt elected today, Tuesday (October 6, 2026), Tobias Rausch, in the first round for the position of Speaker of Parliament, which is the highest position in the state located in eastern Germany.
In the vote that took place in the city of Magdeburg, the state capital, Tobias Rausch (35 years old) received 48 votes in favor, compared to 29 deputies who voted against him, while 5 deputies abstained from voting, as announced by the chair of the session, Eva von Ungern.
It should be noted that the party topped the state parliament elections held on September 6, obtaining 43.8% of the votes, a significant difference from its closest competitor. But he did not achieve an absolute majority.
The "Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance" party, which has five seats in the state parliament, had previously announced that it would vote for Rausch, relying on the custom that gives the strongest parliamentary bloc the right to name the speaker of parliament.
In a press conference held on Monday, the head of the parliamentary bloc of the "Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance" party, Thomas Schulze, described the historical comparison made by the Left Party between the Alternative for Germany party and the Third Reich (Nazi) as "shameful", and justified his support for Rausch for the presidency of the state parliament by the success achieved by his party in the elections.
The total number of representatives of the “Alternative Party” and the “Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance” blocs is 44 deputies. Voting was conducted secretly.
Earlier, the election of a speaker of the state parliament from the party's ranks was met with criticism. The Social Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the Left Party announced that they would vote “no,” while the leadership of the parliamentary bloc of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Party recommended that its deputies abstain from voting.
In the previous legislative session, candidates other than the AfD repeatedly failed to win the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament, and the position remained vacant.
In December, Ulrich Zigmund (35 years old), a prominent regional figure in the Alternative for Germany party, will seek the confidence of Parliament to become head of the regional government. Zigmond hopes to win an absolute majority in the first round. To achieve this, he will need at least three representatives from other parties.
According to the local press, the AfD and the Sara Wagenknecht Alliance party agreed on areas in which they could cooperate, including forming an investigation committee into the authorities’ handling of the Covid pandemic, and reforming the local public broadcaster, which is accused of serving the interests of traditional parties.
The branch of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (domestic intelligence) in Saxony-Anhalt had classified the AfD branch in the state as a confirmed case of an extreme right-wing party.
The Alternative for Germany party is also seeking to attract votes among conservatives, as Zigmund confirmed that he had made contact with some representatives of the Christian Democratic Union Party.
In an interview with public broadcaster ARD on Monday, Sven Schulze, the outgoing prime minister and regional leader of the conservatives, said: “No member of the CDU will join the AfD in any way.”
The Speaker of the State Parliament manages parliamentary sessions through a “Council of Elders” that sets the agenda and discusses procedural issues, as well as supervising the administration of Parliament.
At the national level, the far-right party exceeded the 30% threshold in opinion polls for the first time, as the rate of voting intentions for it reached 30.5%, according to a poll conducted by the INSA Foundation and published by Bild newspaper on Monday.
