The CDU and the Left also continue to reject cooperation with the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt. Representatives of the CDU, SPD, Greens and Left have rejected offers to talk about forming a government. A few days after the election, it is still unclear what will happen politically in the federal state with 2.1 million inhabitants. If there are no defectors from other factions, the AfD could probably only hope for the BSW as a temporary partner. The BSW wants to discuss the AfD's offer of talks.
The state chairmen of the Left, Janina Böttger and Hendrik Lange, explained in their response to the AfD: “The Left has no basis for discussion with a party that sorts out people based on their origin, supposed affiliation and beliefs.” The AfD is aggressively dividing society and fueling a climate of fear, disinhibition and arbitrariness.
CDU leading candidate Sven Schulze has already ruled out collaboration with the AfD several times. “We are in the opposition,” emphasized Schulze after his election as CDU parliamentary group leader. After this election result, one is not instructed to think about participating in the government.
The Greens have rejected exploratory talks with the AfD about a possible government formation in Saxony-Anhalt. “It is absurd to assume that we will hold talks with the right-wing extremist AfD about the future of our country,” said top candidate Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz of the German Press Agency.
After the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, there are signs that it will be difficult to form a government. The AfD received by far the most votes, but missed out on a sole government. Before the election, all other parties had ruled out a coalition with the AfD. Nevertheless, AfD General Secretary Tobias Rausch announced that he would like to invite all parties represented in the state parliament to exploratory talks.
The SPD will not respond to this either. A spokesman confirmed upon request that the letter from the AfD was received by the regional association via email. “We are not accepting the offer to talk.”
According to the police, around 9,000 people in Cologne protested under the motto “Stop right-wing extremism in Saxony-Anhalt and everywhere - strengthen democracy!” demonstrated. The “Cologne opposes itself” 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.
“In such a situation, when right-wing extremists in Germany can come to power in a federal state for the first time, we democrats want and must raise our voices loudly and clearly,” the alliance continued. People are demonstrating for a stable firewall against the AfD - both in state parliaments and in civil society.
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 am 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 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 battle vote in Magdeburg against the previous parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer, according to dpa information.
The current Prime Minister of Saxony-Anhalt, Sven Schulze (CDU), wants to prevent an AfD Prime Minister from leading the Prime Minister's Conference from October. In view of the impending and still uncertain formation of a government in Saxony-Anhalt, he has asked the acting chairman of the conference, the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate Gordon Schnieder (CDU), that not Saxony-Anhalt as planned but another federal state take over the chairmanship from October.
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 on Tuesday.
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. “Whether we elect someone depends, of course, on the specific candidacy,” Wagenknecht told “Stern”. “But it is undisputed for us that the AfD, as by far the strongest faction, is entitled to the office of President of Parliament.”
The former Chancellor commented on the result for the first time after the AfD's election victory. “As a CDU member, my heart is bleeding,” she said on Tuesday in Cologne. The result “black and white” on Sunday evening shocked her. If one were to allow the feelings that the AfD serves to become just as important as facts, that would be a step backwards in civilization.
Saxony-Anhalt's FDP state chairwoman Lydia Hüskens will remain in office until the next regular party conference in just over seven months. “I am responsible for the result,” Hüskens is quoted as saying in the statement. “Responsibility also means not leaving any gaps.”
The AfD in Saxony-Anhalt wants to invite all parties represented in the state parliament to exploratory talks. “Tomorrow, every party represented in the state parliament will receive a letter from us inviting us to exploratory talks,” said the parliamentary managing director of the AfD state parliamentary group, Tobias Rausch, on Monday evening on the MDR program “Fakt ist”.
After the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, the CEO of the industrial group Siemens, Roland Busch, is calling for the reforms planned by the federal government to be adhered to. Only additional economic growth creates the possibility of reacting to a perceived “loss of control” that made the AfD victory possible, said Busch on Tuesday in Cologne.
North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst (CDU) attributes the AfD's election victory in Saxony-Anhalt to “fear” among the population. “Extremists need fear,” he said on Tuesday in Cologne. The election has shaken German politics and one should not lose sight of the people in Saxony-Anhalt.
Despite the clear election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, almost half of the people in Germany believe that the AfD should not form the state government with the help of other parties. In a representative YouGov survey, 36 percent of respondents clearly rejected this (“definitely not”), while 11 percent answered “probably no”.
Der Bundestagsabgeordnete Sepp Müller will nach der Wahlschlappe seiner Partei neuer CDU-Landeschef in Sachsen-Anhalt werden. “I’m running for state chairman,” said the 37-year-old after a meeting of the CDU state executive board in Magdeburg.
After the AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt, Hesse's Prime Minister Boris Rhein warned of similar developments in western Germany. Developments like those in Saxony-Anhalt could “also take place here in the so-called West,” the CDU politician told the Welt-TV broadcaster.
Thousands of people across the country protested against the AfD. After the party's clear victory in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, several thousand people came together at a short-term rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
