After the AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, the coalition is discussing the direction of the coalition. Powerful advocates abroad congratulate, but there are also critical voices.
Berlin. The AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt is sparking debates within the Union in Berlin. The head of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei, sees his party facing difficult talks about forming a government without the AfD after its dramatic losses in Saxony-Anhalt.
“We will have to see what we can do to ensure a reasonably stable government for the country,” said the CDU politician on the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”.
Democracy is the rule of the majority, said Frei. “That means those who manage to bring together a majority have the government mandate.” In principle, Schulze could also lead a coalition in Saxony-Anhalt again.
“This is not the hour when you can duck away,” said Frei, who spoke of a bitter evening after the CDU was more than halved compared to five years ago. Now the CDU has to “look very closely at how we deal with it”.
After the election in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer believes that a self-critical pause in politics is urgently needed. He hopes “that we won’t go back to business as usual in a week or two, but that we will now finally look at what motivates people, why do they vote like that,” said the CDU politician at a gala to mark the 30th birthday of the Comödie Theater in Dresden. “And it really annoys me that this hasn’t happened over the past few years.”
After the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the SPD leadership announced corrections to the federal government's reform course. The result is also a “signal to Berlin” and a “reason to think about politics here in Berlin,” said party leader Lars Klingbeil on Sunday after the AfD’s electoral success and the CDU’s defeat.
We now have to talk about the substantive politics. Secretary General Tim Klüssendorf mentioned pension and care reforms as well as the preparation of the federal budget as topics that needed to be discussed. The SPD supporters are particularly affected by the planned abolition of the pension without deductions after 45 years of contributions.
Party leader Bärbel Bas said that the SPD would continue to fight in the coalition to ensure that life remains affordable for people. She did not currently see a special party conference or debates about the party leadership as a priority. Given the success of the AfD, there are more important things at stake.
According to party leader Tino Chrupalla, the AfD is prepared to compromise with other parties when forming a government in Saxony-Anhalt. “We would absolutely make compromises,” said Chrupalla on the ARD program “Caren Miosga”.
He initially qualified this with the afterthought “when it comes to small-scale laws” that the AfD does not have in its program. But he also mentioned major policy areas such as economic and migration policy and the reduction of bureaucracy. We have to see what compromises could look like, he said when asked.
“We will offer talks to everyone,” emphasized Chrupalla. Some have already thrown their hands away. The AfD politician appealed primarily to the CDU, but also to other parties such as the SPD and BSW. He called on the CDU to change course and also mentioned that he was holding talks with CDU representatives at federal and state levels.
The first signals come from the BSW: After her alliance's narrow election success, party founder Sahra Wagenknecht is calling for a "new political beginning" in Saxony-Anhalt. “Hopefully there are now majorities in the Magdeburg state parliament for a change of course in energy policy, an end to the Russia sanctions, better education and a fundamental reform of public broadcasting,” Wagenknecht told the German Press Agency. “The BSW wants to use these majorities to improve people’s lives.”
The election is also attracting international attention. Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has long sympathized with the AfD, congratulated the right-wing party on its election victory in Saxony-Anhalt - and in return received a direct offer of cooperation. “Well done!” wrote Musk on his online platform
The head of the right-wing Italian party Lega, Matteo Salvini, also congratulated the AfD. “An overwhelming success that underlines the strong call for change, security and jobs,” he writes on Platform X. “A slap in the face for those on the left who have stoked fears and painted disaster scenarios on the wall.”
The head of the Austrian right-wing populists, Herbert Kickl, sees the AfD's election results in Saxony-Anhalt as the end of the firewall. “The voters not only voted for the AfD today, but above all also voted out the assembled front of the system parties,” the FPÖ chairman told the OE24 broadcaster on Sunday evening. “At the ballot box, they tore down the undemocratic firewall that aloof elites had built against the only patriotic force and thus against the will of their own people.”
Critical voices come from France. The head of the left-wing populist French party LFI, Jean-Luc Melenchon, called the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt a catastrophe. “The extreme right has returned to Germany,” he wrote on Platform X. Under these circumstances, Germany’s plan to build Europe’s strongest conventional army is unacceptable for France.
