How is federal politics dealing with the AfD success? The federal government is discussing changes to the planned social reforms.
The left-wing politician and former Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, commented with concern on the results of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. "Over 50 percent [...] of the highest voter turnout of all time in a federal state put a cross in a place that clearly says: We are rejecting everything we know about West German debates," said Ramelow on Bayern 2. For him, the development was "an alarming sign of German unity."
Many people in the East felt “no longer noticed.” Unfortunately, their reaction was to "get the necessary momentum from a fascist party or neo-fascist party in order to show everyone else."
BSW co-chair Amira Mohamed Ali has commented on her party's possible collaboration with the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. “To be honest, I don’t think that a lot of our content could get through because there is little in common,” she told WDR5.
One thing they have in common, however, is the topic of energy. They want to implement a Federal Council initiative for affordable energy in Saxony-Anhalt.
Otherwise, the BSW will stick to its course and elect neither Sven Schulze (CDU) nor Ulrich Siegmund (AfD) as Prime Minister.
The BSW in Saxony-Anhalt had also confirmed its willingness to abstain from a third round of voting in the state parliament if AfD lead candidate Siegmund stood for election.
At a gas station, with tourists in Dessau-Roßlau and at industrial companies: the mdr asked around in Saxony-Anhalt after the state elections. This is how people look at the result:
The BSW could take on an important role for the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt - for example in the election of a prime minister. BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht has announced that collaboration on individual projects could be discussed. "We will make common policies with anyone who is willing to implement the changes that the people of our country want." She also brought up the idea of electing a “non-partisan Prime Minister” on ZDF.
However, AfD leader Tino Chrupalla rejected this model in the ZDF program “Lanz”. For the AfD, “there can only be one Prime Minister Ulrich Siegmund,” said Chrupalla. "And we won't let go of that either. Why should we now agree to a change of people in any way or run after a party with just under six percent in any way?"
The BSW got 5.3 percent of the votes in the state elections.
The President of the Thuringian State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Kramer, has discussed preventive restrictions on the exchange of sensitive intelligence information in the event of an AfD-led state government in Saxony-Anhalt.
If "concrete doubts arise about the secret protection of a political leadership", the Office for the Protection of the Constitution must be prepared for graduated information rights, the principle of "knowledge only if necessary" and, if necessary, a limited disclosure of particularly sensitive information, Kramer told the Editorial Network Germany (RND).
Thuringia's Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) and Hamburg's Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) also made similar statements. An AfD state government is a threat to national security.
After the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, a district administrator from the SPD called on the other parties to hold talks with the election winner, the AfD. “The AfD is democratically elected and is clearly the strongest force,” said Markus Bauer, district administrator in the Salzland district, to the news portal t-online. “She cannot now be ignored and excluded.”
The AfD is classified as definitely right-wing extremist by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony-Anhalt. “All parties should now talk to each other and explore coalition options,” demanded Bauer. The other parties in the state parliament had ruled out a coalition with the AfD before the election.
Bauer is vice president of the Saxony-Anhalt district council and has been district administrator in the Salzland district since 2014. In the state elections on Sunday, the AfD got 49.7 percent, the SPD only 7.5.
After the election in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin's CDU top candidate Stefan Evers clearly spoke out against working with the AfD. “The AfD stands for pretty much everything that doesn’t define Berlin,” Evers told rbb. Berlin stands for cosmopolitanism, internationality and cohesion across cultural borders. "The AfD wants to destroy exactly that. And that's why I will do everything I can and everything we have to ensure that there is never any cooperation with this AfD," said Evers.
A new House of Representatives will be elected in Berlin on September 20th.
The CDU in Saxony-Anhalt is reorganizing itself after the disastrous state elections. The previous CDU state leader and Prime Minister Sven Schulze announced a new election of the CDU state executive board for the end of November/beginning of December. Bundestag member Sepp Müller declared that he wanted to run for the presidency. Schulze's political future is unclear.
After the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, the German Social Association (SoVD) called on the federal government to correct its planned reform plans. You can read what the association specifically demands here:
Press conferences and protests: How did the day after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt go? All developments can be read here:
