AfD man Tobias Rauch becomes president of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt with votes from the other parties. The first meeting after the election shows what could be ahead politically.
Tobias Rausch (left), Ulrich Siegmund (right): Photo: via REUTERS
At 12.50 p.m. Tobias Rausch takes the place of chairman of the session of the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. In front of him is a big bell, the microphone, his printed inaugural speech. This is the first time that an AfD representative has taken over the office of state parliament president.
From the right-wing perspective, the election, a litmus test for a possible AfD government, was more than successful. Because Rausch not only elected his own group colleagues and presumably the members of the BSW in a secret ballot, but also four other members - probably CDU members.
Rausch is now sitting in the oval room of the state parliament in Magdeburg opposite a block of 39 AfD MPs who have positioned themselves in the middle - to the left of the Greens.
The new state parliament president seems to enjoy the hustle and bustle surrounding him less than AfD prime ministerial candidate Ulrich Siegmund, who is smiling into every camera that day. Rausch activates the microphone and asks everyone to take their seats. “I would then ask the press to leave,” says the President of the State Parliament and thanks them for the trust they have placed in him.
Tobias Rausch: Tense in the spotlight. Photo: AFP
Rausch emphasizes the non-partisan nature of his office and tries to appear presidential. He will definitely make decisions that not everyone will agree with, he says, and emphasizes that he has no plans to settle with the past. The same rules would apply to everyone.
» Read also: Criminal records, Stasi, porn: Who will enter the state parliament for the Siegmund AfD
“We can make history today,” Rausch said in an interview with the Tagesspiegel before the meeting, and was cautious about the further votes that day: “Just because the BSW has now announced that it wants to support certain decisions with us, it doesn’t mean that they will fundamentally support every decision we make.” That should be accepted.
The AfD's style emerged in the first meeting
However, it was already noticeable during the meeting how much the five BSW MPs supported the AfD, not only spatially but also figuratively. People voted together for Formalia, clapped for each other, and presumably voted unanimously for Rausch in a secret ballot.
And the style that can be expected here during the meeting, which runs largely orderly until midday, becomes apparent in the morning.
While senior president Eva von Angern (Left Party) speaks about the lessons of National Socialism, prime ministerial candidate Ulrich Siegmund appears impatient, sighs, and fidgets with his tie.
The new state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt has elected Tobias Rausch as parliamentary speaker. The AfD politician received 48 votes on Tuesday. After winning the election at the beginning of September, his party has 39 seats.
Parliamentary culture suffered significantly after the AfD entered the state parliament, says von Angern, referring to the past legislative period.
While the MPs are called by name, there is something between solemnity and awkward silence in the room. You follow the given path of the agenda before the decisive step - agenda item 8 - comes and Rausch is elected.
While von Angern opens this, Siegmund is typing on his cell phone, grinning and laughing broadly like someone who is commenting on a TikTok video. When he is called to vote, he pats Rausch on the shoulders, then throws the ballot paper into the ballot box and gives a thumbs up towards the photographer.
The years of exclusion of our party have finally come to an end today Alice Weidel and Tino ChrupallaAfD federal spokesman
Rausch, elected with 48 votes, accepts the election. When the leader of the Green Party, Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz, gave a speech before the handover and appealed to put the AfD under democratic pressure with regard to the seating arrangement, the AfD MPs grinned and laughed - 37 men, two women.
Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz: Appeal to the other parties in the state parliament. Photo: AFP
Even if the election of Prime Minister in December will be the most important milestone from the AfD's point of view, with the election of Rausch it has not only tested its power, but expanded it. Right-wing majorities seem within reach, and not just for Ulrich Siegmund himself.
The federal leadership then declared that the fire wall in Magdeburg had finally come down. “The years of exclusion of our party have finally come to an end today,” said party leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla. We wish Siegmund an equally successful result.
Related topics
AfDBSWSachsen-AnhaltAlice Weidel
Comment
The Magdeburg election is more than a stress test for democracy
Thomas Sigmund
After Rausch was elected, the CDU parliamentary group leader and Prime Minister until the election of a new incumbent, Sven Schulze, also presented flowers to the new state parliament president. Siegmund had intervened at Rausch, shouting “Everything Jute”. The men laughed into the cameras while President von Angern quietly withdrew.
This article was first published by Tagesspiegel.
More: Clear majority for Tobias Rausch: State parliament elects AfD candidate as president for the first time
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