State Parliament: CDU parliamentary group will not be in the hall for the Prime Minister election in Anhalt

Magdeburg. When AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund stands for election as Prime Minister in Saxony-Anhalt in December, the CDU parliamentary group will not be there. The MPs will leave the hall, said parliamentary group leader Sven Schulze in Magdeburg after a group meeting that lasted a good three hours. “The group has agreed that they want to do this.”

The parliamentary group leadership had suggested the approach to the 15 MPs. 14 voted in favor, the former parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer wanted to seek legal advice again with a view to further elections and abstained, said Schulze.

With his proposal, the executive board of the CDU state parliamentary group aimed to avoid the suspicion that there could be votes for an AfD prime minister from within the CDU ranks.

Ulrich Siegmund, who led the AfD to victory in the state elections, has announced that he will stand for election in the state parliament in December. For the necessary majority he needs at least 42 votes in parliament, his AfD has 39. The BSW has announced that it will abstain. This would mean that Siegmund would have to rely on three votes from other ranks.

The CDU is still struggling with the outcome of the vote for AfD state parliament president. When he was elected a week ago, Tobias Rausch (AfD) not only received votes from the AfD and BSW, but also at least four votes from other ranks in the secret vote. There has been repeated speculation that it could have been votes from the CDU, which, according to Schulze, recommended abstention. In total, there were only five abstentions in the secret election.

“I now have the feeling that the group has really come together again after today’s discussion,” said Schulze. “They were very, very factual contributions.” All MPs spoke up, some of them several times. “The majority of MPs said one thing again and again today: it is the past now, which must be overcome and that we look forward.”

As the strongest opposition force, we face major tasks and must work together. “Together means all 15 together.” “I can really say, that is my impression, that we have slipped a little further together and that some of the ditches are now slowly being filled up again.”