Federal Finance Minister and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil described the election results in Saxony-Anhalt as a “clear signal to Berlin” in the tagesthemen interview. After such an election evening, "where almost 45 percent voted for a nationalist, right-wing extremist party, I can't say I don't care," said Klingbeil.
Sometimes you might need to explain what you do better. "You have to take people with you, but we also have to look at the substance. And the pension debate in particular has unsettled many people in this country."
According to police information, around 9,000 people in Cologne protested under the motto "Stop right-wing extremism in Saxony-Anhalt and everywhere - strengthen democracy!" demonstrated. The “Cologne stands aside” alliance called for this after the AfD’s election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. The alliance said it wanted to give people space for initial reactions, protests and analyses.
The Greens in the federal government are open to the BSW proposal for a non-partisan Prime Minister in Saxony-Anhalt. “We as the Greens are not blocking the idea of a non-partisan candidate for the office of Prime Minister,” said Green Party leader Felix Banaszak to the news portal t-online. "This unprecedented situation requires flexibility and creativity."
The Greens in Saxony-Anhalt had previously shown themselves open to the proposal.
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst is calling for a federal-state working group on the constitutional handling of the AfD and possible consequences. AfD co-chairwoman Alice Weidel sharply criticized Wüst. The move shows "the full extent of the CDU's desperation after the historic election defeat in Saxony-Anhalt," she told the news portal The Pioneer. The fact that Wüst wanted to “start a new ban debate” immediately after the AfD’s election victory was “a desperate attempt to distract from the failure of the Union.” She looks forward to the debate with great calm.
Katja Pähle remains SPD parliamentary group leader in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. The 49-year-old was unanimously elected by the eight parliamentary group members. Her deputy remains the co-leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Schmidt. Falko Grube remains the parliamentary managing director. All three were elected unanimously, according to a spokesman.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Sven Schulze is relying on the unity of the parliamentary group after his election as CDU parliamentary group leader. “We discussed internally today what paths we will take to do opposition work together with this group and the MPs we have,” said Schulze in Magdeburg. "I have been elected."
He ruled out that members of the 15-member faction would enter into talks about cooperation with the AfD. “There will be no discussions whatsoever from us, from the CDU, from all 15 MPs,” said Schulze.
Economically, Saxony-Anhalt is the weakest federal state of all. But it is also known as an important location for the chemical industry. After the AfD's victory in the state elections, economic experts are warning of the consequences if the party, which is classified as right-wing extremist, leads the government in the future. They fear that investors and qualified personnel from abroad would be deterred and that skilled workers would migrate:
The Left's top candidate in the election campaign, Eva von Angern (49), is allowed to open the first session of the newly elected state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt as senior president. The parliamentary administration announced this at the request of the dpa news agency. According to the law, the member who has been represented in the state parliament for the longest time gets the position. He or she chairs the first session until a new state parliament president is elected.
The new state parliament must meet for the first time no later than the 30th day after the election, i.e. on October 6th. The office can be waived.
Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Sven Schulze (CDU) expects a new state government to be elected in the first week of meetings at the beginning of October. "I'm pretty sure that after the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania at the latest, the AfD and BSW will tell the truth that they have long since reached an agreement," said Schulze.
The Federal Government's Eastern Commissioner, Elisabeth Kaiser, believes that negative consequences for the economy are possible following the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. If East Germany's economy is to continue to grow, investments from home and abroad and well-trained specialists are necessary, Kaiser said at the East German Entrepreneurs' Day in Potsdam, according to the manuscript. But stable political conditions would be needed for this.
“If a party becomes the strongest force that so radically questions our democracy and the European internal market, then that scares off investors,” said Kaiser, according to the manuscript. "The blatantly xenophobic slogans of this party are certainly not an invitation to workers from abroad."
The election of acting Prime Minister Sven Schulze as CDU parliamentary group leader comes as a surprise, as Sven Knobloch from MDR reports in the tagesschau. "It was actually thought that Prime Minister Schulze would clear the way for a complete personnel reorganization."
According to his information, Schulze only narrowly won the election against the previous parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer with eight votes to seven, said Knobloch. Schulze will not completely disappear from the scene with the election - after he announced last night that there would be a new election for the state chairmanship.
Saxony-Anhalt's government will not take over the chairmanship of the Prime Minister's Conference (MPK) on October 1st. In a letter to the current chairman Gordon Schnieder, Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony-Anhalt's state leader Sven Schulze (CDU) justified this with the uncertain formation of a government in Magdeburg. Assuming responsibility for coordination between the countries is therefore “no longer appropriate”.
“In particular, under these conditions, flawless technical and content-related preparation and implementation of the annual MPK cannot be guaranteed,” wrote Schulze in the letter, which was available to the Reuters news agency. He asked Rhineland-Palatinate to coordinate with the MPK co-chair Lower Saxony and make a proposal for the further procedure.
After the CDU election fiasco in Saxony-Anhalt, the deputy state party leader of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Tino Schomann, is calling for the replacement of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). “Berlin bears the main responsibility,” he told NDR, referring to the election defeat. The Chancellor is stoking people's fears and breaking promises.
Schomann no longer believes Merz is suitable as head of government. "We need a personality that conveys empathy, credibility and reliability. He has shown that he cannot do that." Merz has to get off his chair and someone else has to get up there, he told the dpa news agency.
The next state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is coming up in a week and a half.
The CDU parliamentary group in Saxony-Anhalt has elected Prime Minister Sven Schulze as its new chairman. Two days after the CDU's defeat in the state elections, Schulze prevailed in a vote against the previous parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer in Magdeburg, according to information from the dpa news agency. The Spiegel also reported.
It had already been indicated that Schulze wanted to run for parliamentary group chairmanship. Sven Knobloch from MDR said on tagesschau24: "This comes as quite a surprise."
Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul emphasized the importance of Europe for Germany in view of the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. “I can only urgently warn against a path back to national solutions,” said the CDU politician in Berlin. "Only the European Union gives us the opportunity to ensure almost fair conditions for our industry on the world market, and therefore any threat to the European Union must be avoided," emphasized the minister.
Wadephul added: Anyone who advocates leaving the eurozone is endangering prosperity, security and freedom. AfD leader Alice Weidel has repeatedly advocated for Germany to leave the euro zone.
The Greens in Saxony-Anhalt have shown themselves to be open to the BSW's proposal for a non-partisan Prime Minister. The Green Party's leading candidate Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz calls this a "very unusual idea" in the taz. "But it wouldn't fail because of us - we are ready to talk," she added.
The alternatives are an AfD-led government or a stalemate in which no new head of government is elected. An independent candidate is "the last straw if we want to prevent both a fascist government and a blockade in the country."
BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht has spoken out in favor of electing an AfD politician as state parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt. This would give the AfD the necessary majority for the top office. It would be the first time nationwide that she would appoint the president of a state parliament. In Saxony-Anhalt, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD as definitely right-wing extremist. The party is taking action against it and the proceedings are currently suspended.
“Whether we elect someone depends, of course, on the specific candidacy,” Wagenknecht told Stern. It is undisputed "that the AfD, as by far the strongest faction, is entitled to the office of President of Parliament." The newly elected parliamentary managing director of the BSW state parliamentary group, John Lucas Dittrich, said, "The AfD will get our votes for the state president."
The Green Party interior expert Konstantin von Notz has called on the constitutional protection authorities and the Ministry of the Interior to urgently implement protective measures in the event of an AfD taking over government in Saxony-Anhalt. “The current refusal attitude of the politically responsible is extremely dangerous,” said von Notz. The fact that the Federal and State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution apparently only wanted to discuss their next steps this week came too late and could have "fatal consequences."
At least since the AfD's electoral success in Saxony-Anhalt, those responsible must "be clear that these are certainly not purely hypothetical scenarios and that we finally have to act with the necessary determination."
CSU boss Markus Söder is extremely skeptical about the call for a federal-state working group on the constitutional handling of the AfD from North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst. “Despite all the fundamental understanding that one would prefer this AfD not to be there, the reality is that it is hardly enforceable constitutionally,” he said, referring to a possible AfD ban procedure, after a cabinet meeting in Munich. In addition to a year-long process, there is a risk that the AfD will acquire a new martyr status.
The CSU will not fundamentally close itself to discussions in a federal-state group, said Söder. But he emphasized: "In a democracy you have to work with democratic means and the democratic way means preparing for the next elections differently than in Saxony-Anhalt, finding clearer arguments." The CSU does not believe that a ban procedure would work.
The AfD's electoral success in Saxony-Anhalt deeply affected former Chancellor Angela Merkel. That was “simply shocking,” said the former CDU party leader at Deutsche Telekom’s Digital X trade fair in Cologne. Her party suffered a bitter defeat in the state and saw its share of the vote halved. “As a CDU member, my heart bleeds,” said the Christian Democrat. The result is a “break” in the history of the Federal Republic
The former CDU party leader recommended a different type of communication in order to better reach the population and better explain progress. “Addressing citizens individually” has probably become more important than before, said Merkel. She finds it worrying that facts no longer have such a high priority for many citizens and that feelings are instead referred to.
After the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the BSW announced that it would also talk to the AfD about cooperation. "For us there is no firewall. We will talk to all parties," said the newly elected parliamentary group leader Thomas Schulze, according to the dpa news agency.
He congratulated the AfD on its election victory. When asked whether he expressly ruled out a coalition with the AfD, Schulze answered evasively. He emphasized: "The current government coalition has been voted out. We have to accept that and that is what we call democracy."
His deputy Claudia Wittig said: “We are not going into coalition negotiations, we are talking about projects.” We will talk to all parties about the positions that we want for Saxony-Anhalt.
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst is calling for a federal-state working group on the constitutional handling of the AfD and possible consequences. This review must be open-ended and should not automatically lead to a ban, the CDU politician told the dpa news agency.
“I warn against taking quick measures to ban the AfD, because banning a political party can only be the last resort if we want to protect our constitution,” said Wüst. He explained: "There must now be a structure in which these questions are examined carefully, professionally and seriously by the federal and state governments."
Two days after the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil admitted that the government had lost trust. “If we want to regain trust for the necessary changes, then the question of the fairness of the changes must be the focus,” he said in the budget debate in the Bundestag.
We should not allow “the systematic dismantling of our welfare state to be carried out under the slogan of reform,” emphasized the SPD leader. "We need a functioning welfare state so that Germany can be a strong country." The leadership of the coalition also agrees on this.
The Protestant regional bishop for Magdeburg, Bettina Schlauraff, has stated that her church sees itself as a place of protection for people who experience discrimination. "So we as a church are not apolitical, because the issues of justice, peace and the preservation of creation are, so to speak, written in our hearts." She added: "Someone has to explain to people why the AfD is right-wing extremist." It's now about "doing a lot of educational work, a lot of encounter work, a lot of advisory work - and explaining again how democracy works."
