Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Sven Schulze defends CDU parliamentary group leadership after state elections

Almost a month after the defeat in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Prime Minister Sven Schulze defended his application for the CDU parliamentary group chairmanship in the Magdeburg state parliament. Many would have asked him to take responsibility in a possible opposition, Schulze told the German Press Agency (dpa) in an interview. “I have taken on this task.”

Two days after the election defeat, Schulze secured the CDU parliamentary group chairmanship in a vote against the previous incumbent. Several Christian Democrats then criticized Schulze and accused him of not drawing the necessary conclusions from the election, in which the AfD finished well ahead of the CDU. The dual role as prime minister and parliamentary group leader continues to be viewed critically within the party.

Schulze wants to regain trust little by little

Schulze said he had drawn conclusions and made the CDU state chairmanship available. However, he cannot resign as Prime Minister. “The incumbent government will remain in office until a new prime minister is elected,” said the 47-year-old. He considers the dual role to be justifiable for a “manageable period of time”.

In the ZDF program “Markus Lanz” Schulze said: “I know that doesn’t look good.” He would have liked there to have been more time between the evening of the election and the election of the parliamentary group leadership. «But there was no other way. The parliamentary group has decided to elect its parliamentary group leader on that day. He was asked to run.

At the same time, Schulze admitted in the dpa interview that the Union is currently doing poorly nationwide. “The central question for us must be: Do people fully trust us to solve the problems of the future? And we have to admit: That's not the case at the moment, otherwise we would have better approval ratings," he said. “We have to work hard to win back the trust of the population little by little.”

Why no discussions with other parties?

In Saxony-Anhalt, AfD co-parliamentary group leader Ulrich Siegmund wants to be elected as the new Prime Minister in December. But governing is about more than electing a prime minister, said Schulze. “The country must be governed sensibly.” It will be difficult for Siegmund to “organize long-term majorities in this constellation.”

The outgoing CDU state leader defended the fact that the CDU is not taking part in talks between the SPD, the Greens, the Left and the BSW. “We have a very clear decision: we see ourselves as the opposition. That applies in all directions,” he said. The election result is a turning point. “It is of course legitimate to talk to each other. But it is just as legitimate to take the stance that we currently see ourselves as the opposition.”

Schulze announces constructive opposition work. You will make your own suggestions and, when it comes to AfD applications, “we will deal with the upcoming content before every state parliament meeting” and decide “what we think is right for the country”.