Leading CDU politicians have expressed concern about the election of AfD politician Tobias Rausch as state parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt.
CDU general secretary Franziska Hoppermann described Rausch's election as a "severe blow" for the Christian Democrats. "It is clear to Germany's CDU that supporting an extremist party or a government led by it is not compatible with the values of our party," Hoppermann told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Against the backdrop of the election results for Rausch, who received more votes than the AfD and BSW had announced, Hoppermann said: "The election was secret. We cannot say where the additional votes came from." A previous internal vote in the CDU parliamentary group resulted in a vote for abstention or no votes. “How and whether a secret election can be clarified will have to be clarified in the state parliamentary groups,” emphasized the Secretary General.
It is not yet clear who voted for Rausch in the secret election, said CDU Vice and Federal Family Minister Karin Prien to the broadcaster rbb. "But I want to say clearly: If it was colleagues from the CDU parliamentary group, then that is of course completely unacceptable."
The CDU has “clear decisions” on this, emphasized Prien. “This also includes voting for AfD proposals.”
Rausch was elected on Tuesday with 48 votes in the inaugural state parliament session in Magdeburg. The AfD and the BSW, which had previously announced its support for Rausch, together received 44 votes. Since the election took place secretly, it is unclear which four additional MPs voted for the AfD candidates.
The CDU parliamentary group had recommended that its 15 MPs abstain. However, there were only five abstentions and, according to MDR, one CDU representative was not present at the meeting. The SPD, Greens and Left Party factions had announced that they would vote against Rausch. Together they have 24 elected representatives. In total there were 29 no votes.
Criticism of the high share of votes for Rausch also came from Schleswig-Holstein's Prime Minister Daniel Günther. “The majority of members of the state parliament, which goes beyond the votes of the AfD and BSW, are responsible for a result that leaves us stunned and horrified,” wrote Günther in his role as state chairman of the CDU via Facebook.
If someone from the Union's ranks was involved, he or she did not act according to the Union's values, said Günther. "For us, without exception, there is no cooperation with right-wing extremists. Not in governments and not in parliament."
The parliamentary secretary of the Union in the Bundestag, Catarina dos Santos-Wintz, made a similar statement to the broadcasters RTL and ntv: "You have to ask yourself the question of how you can reconcile making such a decision with your conscience." The member of the Bundestag ruled out that AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund would get votes from the CDU/CSU in the prime ministerial election in Saxony-Anhalt in December. “I know from the state parliamentary groups and from the state party that that will not be the case,” said dos Santos-Wintz.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has not yet commented on the issue.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil had previously demanded explanations from the Christian Democrats. "The fact that the candidate of the AfD, which is classified as right-wing extremist, was elected president of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt with significantly more votes than the AfD votes, raises very pressing questions. It is a breach of taboo to elect right-wing extremists to such offices." Not only the BSW, but also the CDU urgently need to explain how this came about.
SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf told the Rheinische Post: "My clear expectation of the CDU is that it immediately clarifies who among its ranks may have considered this fatal decision to be correct."
On Tuesday, many members of the SPD parliamentary group gathered for a protest march in the middle of Berlin. The members of the Bundestag walked together through the Brandenburg Gate to Bebelplatz, the site of the book burning after the National Socialists came to power in 1933. Several parliamentarians carried copies of the Basic Law. At the end, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius sang the national anthem after a passionate speech.
“This is not a normal day,” emphasized parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch. The SPD feels the duty to show its colors when democracy is under pressure. For the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic, right-wing extremists were elected to a state parliament presidency. "This should alarm us all."
The BSW leadership comes to a different assessment. "The 'firewall' has failed," said federal boss Fabio De Masi to the Hamburger Abendblatt. "You have to pull the AfD out from behind the firewall. So far it hasn't had to prove anything and has been able to hide its internal contradictions. I don't want the AfD to continue to grow behind the firewall."
The Left Party took a sharp stance against the CDU. “Anyone who gives their vote to a right-wing extremist has lost all right to call themselves a democrat,” said Bundestag parliamentary group leader Heidi Reichinnek to the AFP news agency. Anyone who “abstains” has no attitude.
The Greens also criticized the choice. “It is a gradual normalization of the right-wing extremist land grab that we are experiencing here again - and not just, as announced, by the BSW MPs,” said co-party leader Felix Banaszak to the editorial network Germany.
The “firewall” could also become a topic at the coalition committee of the Union and SPD, which meets in Berlin in the evening. The event is not a reaction to the events in Saxony-Anhalt, but rather takes place regularly after a three-month summer break.
The focus is on the upcoming reform projects, but the SPD announced that it would also seek exchanges about Saxony-Anhalt. It is unclear whether there will be public comments immediately after the meeting.
