First AfD state parliament president: SPD politician sees Merz as having a duty in Saxony-Anhalt

The deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Wiebke Esdar takes Chancellor Friedrich Merz to task after the election of an AfD politician as state parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt. As chairman of the CDU, it is his responsibility to convince his colleagues that this election is “incompatible with the historical responsibility that we all have in a democracy, especially when we are elected to parliament,” Esdar said on Deutschlandfunk.

The SPD politician doesn't necessarily expect a word of power from Merz. “I believe that politics works more with values ​​and beliefs.” She too will not allow herself to be intimidated by power words in her political actions. But: “I expect that the Union will now finally recognize what historical responsibility we have to ensure that right-wing extremist parties are not helped to power again in Germany,” Esdar continued. A clear demarcation is needed.

Esdar: You can read something from voting results

The AfD politician Tobias Rausch was elected President of the State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt on Tuesday with 48 votes in the inaugural state parliament session in Magdeburg. However, the AfD and the BSW together only get 44 votes. The CDU parliamentary group had recommended that its 15 MPs abstain, but there were only 5 abstentions.

Regarding speculation that the four votes came from the CDU, the Union parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei (CDU), said: “It is a secret election and of course everyone is eligible.” Frei emphasized that he would not allow himself to speculate on this. Esdar, on the other hand, explained that something could be read from the voting results. She has doubts that the votes did not come from the CDU.