Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour had his hands full as chair of the meeting. Mutual accusations, loud heckling, rhetorical crossing of boundaries - Nouripour reprimanded three MPs from different parties.
“I want to ask everyone to preserve and protect the dignity and order of the House in a very emotional debate for very, very good reasons,” was the Green politician’s appeal to members of all parliamentary groups.
Discussion about the choice of intoxication
Left party leader Heidi Reichinnek, who was born in Saxony-Anhalt, set the tone for the heated debate. Your party had requested the current hour with the title "Cesura in Saxony-Anhalt - Cooperation with right-wing extremists" in order to discuss the election of AfD politician Tobias Rausch as President of the State Parliament.
In the vote on Tuesday, Rausch received four more votes than the AfD and BSW have seats in the Magdeburg state parliament combined. The BSW had previously announced that it wanted to vote for the AfD candidate. For Reichinnek it is clear that the extra votes for Rausch came from the CDU.
Accusations on the one hand, outrage on the other
"When it came to elevating a right-wing extremist to the highest office in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, nine out of fifteen members of the CDU consciously decided to do so - by agreeing or abstaining," criticized the left-wing politician. Outrage on the part of the Union. These are “wild allegations” and “unproven claims,” replied Berlin member of the Bundestag Ottilie Klein.
The CDU is the only party that has an incompatibility decision against the AfD. For her party it is clear: "Extremes remain extremes. Regardless of whether they come from the right or the left," said Klein.
“Pathetic and transparent”
Heidi Reichinnek doubts whether the incompatibility decision will hold. The CDU has “marched firmly to the right” over the past year and a half. Friedrich Merz, who “called these spirits,” stands “idly by.” After the vote in Magdeburg, the Chancellor and CDU federal chairman spoke of a possible "false flag operation" - a staged deception by other factions.
“Pathetic and transparent,” Reichinnek called it. Green party leader Felix Banaczak described Merz's statement as outrageous and "unworthy of a chancellor." Merz should take back the statement, demanded Banaszak.
Reminders also from the SPD
But there were also warning tones towards the Union and the Chancellor from the ranks of the coalition partner SPD. “Influence your party colleagues,” appealed MP Franziska Kersten from Saxony-Anhalt to Merz. “The President of the State Parliament may be elected, but the Prime Minister is not yet,” added Kersten.
The election of the new Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt is scheduled to take place in December. Then Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's top candidate, will stand for a vote - but only for a first round. If Siegmund were to become the first head of government of the “Alternative for Germany,” it would be another turning point in the history of the Federal Republic.
This shouldn't happen if Sepp Müller has his way. The deputy parliamentary group leader of the Union wants to become the next CDU state leader in Saxony-Anhalt - and replace the previous incumbent Sven Schulze, with whom he is at odds.
Internal power struggle in the state CDU
Müller said he expects every CDU MP to adhere to the incompatibility decision in December and took this opportunity to step in again in the internal power struggle. "We had a top candidate, his name was Sven Schulze. We were voted out. We decided that we would go into the opposition. That also means for us that we will not elect a candidate for prime minister from the AfD," announced Müller. "They'll get a no vote from us. That's very clear, I expect that from every single one of the 15 MPs." But can Sepp Müller keep this announcement? The CDU regional association in Saxony-Anhalt is ultimately completely divided.
In view of the unclear balance of power in the CDU, Union representatives are relying on a diversionary tactic: the formation of a government in Berlin after the House of Representatives election. The Left Party - the election winner in the federal capital - has begun exploratory talks with the Greens and the SPD. Giving the left the “key to the Red City Hall is a breach of taboo,” criticized Berlin CDU politician Ottilie Klein, referring to the Greens and the Social Democrats. The Union's criticism is primarily sparked by the allegations of anti-Semitism against the regional association of the Left, especially in Neukölln.
Emotional end to a long week
The AfD enjoyed listening to the exchange of blows in the Bundestag. The election of Tobias Rausch as President of the State Parliament was a "completely normal process that reflects the majority situation," said Martin Reichardt - he is also state chairman of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. "Even if you don't like it," Reichardt said to the other factions in the Bundestag, "this election result is democracy. This election result is rule by the people."
The current hour on Saxony-Anhalt, the emotional end to a long week in the German Bundestag.
