Schulze comments on the controversial paper – “I couldn’t believe it,” says a member of parliament

Saxony-Anhalt's CDU parliamentary group leader and acting Prime Minister Sven Schulze has for the first time commented in more detail on the controversial affidavit following the election of two AfD politicians to the state parliament's presidency.

He again denied to the Magdeburger “Volksstimme” that he had initiated the paper. At the same time, he stated that he would have supported the project if his group had approved it. The statements caused contradiction from the group.

In the letter, the 15 CDU members of the state parliament were supposed to assure “in lieu of oath” at the parliamentary group meeting on October 13th that they had neither “made any reliable agreements with representatives of the AfD for the election on October 6th and beyond” nor had they elected Tobias Rausch as state parliament president and Hans-Thomas Tillschneider as vice president. In the event of a proven false statement, the paper contained a far-reaching obligation: “If it is proven that it is different from what was stated, I will immediately make my mandate available.” According to the participants, the paper was presented by his parliamentary group's economic policy spokesman, Ulrich Thomas.

The two AfD politicians were elected at the beginning of October with more votes than the AfD has seats in the new state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. Since then there has been discussion about whether these votes could possibly have come from the CDU. The group always rejected this. The election is secret.

Schulze: “I behaved neutrally throughout the entire debate”

“If the parliamentary group had decided on this, I would have submitted a signed paper,” Schulze told the “Volksstimme”.

After the paper was distributed, a heated debate broke out. “I remained neutral throughout the entire debate,” emphasized Schulze.

According to the newspaper, several MPs contradict this representation. They say that the parliamentary group leader signed the text without hesitation as soon as it was in front of him. “I couldn’t believe it,” says one MP. “That has nothing to do with neutrality.”

Criticism from the Union – Rausch has legal action examined

In the end, the paper was collected again and the plan was abandoned. But there is great criticism of Schulze's behavior. Former CDU member of the Bundestag Wolfgang Bosbach told WELT TV: “If such a paper is passed around, in whatever group of the Union, then there can only be one reaction: into the shredder.”

According to the “Volksstimme” report, State Parliament President Rausch is checking whether the process could be criminally relevant as an attempted coercion of elected officials. A corresponding legal assessment is still pending.

The dispute exacerbates tensions in the CDU parliamentary group. After the state election, Schulze was elected parliamentary group leader in a vote against incumbent Guido Heuer with eight votes to seven. According to MPs, the parliamentary group will also address his political future on Tuesday. CDU politicians are calling for his resignation.

When asked about a possible resignation, Schulze referred to the “Volksstimme” to a letter to the party base: “I wrote a letter to all party members and asked them to give me a chance.”

In December, the AfD wants to have its top candidate Ulrich Siegmund elected as the first AfD Prime Minister. In the first and second rounds he needs an absolute majority of 42 votes. The AfD has 39 MPs, the BSW wants to abstain. Siegmund would therefore have to rely on at least three votes from other factions.

The CDU parliamentary group had agreed to leave the hall in the first two rounds of voting. However, Schulze's rival Heuer announced that he would take part in the election. There is also criticism of the project within the party. Former Interior Minister Holger Stahlknecht told WELT that it was not in line with his understanding of the state to avoid elections every time in such situations.