There is great anger in the SPD over the election of AfD politician Tobias Rausch as President of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament and his party colleague Hans-Thomas Tillschneider as Vice President. This unrest also affects the relationship with the coalition partner CDU at the federal level.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil demanded explanations from the Christian Democrats: "The fact that the candidate of the AfD, which is classified as right-wing extremist, was elected president of the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt with significantly more votes than the AfD votes, raises very pressing questions. It is a breach of taboo to elect right-wing extremists to such offices." Not only the BSW, but also the CDU urgently need to explain how this came about.
SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf told the Rheinische Post: "My clear expectation of the CDU is that it immediately clarifies who among its ranks may have considered this fatal decision to be correct."
Who voted for AfD politician Rausch?
Rausch was elected yesterday with 48 votes in the inaugural state parliament session in Magdeburg. The AfD and the BSW together have 44 votes. The CDU parliamentary group had recommended that its 15 MPs abstain, but there were only five abstentions. Since the election was secret, it is unclear who voted for the AfD candidates.
The SPD, Greens and Left Party factions had announced that they would vote against Rausch. Together they have 22 elected representatives. In total there were 29 no votes.
SPD protest in Berlin
Yesterday, many members of the SPD parliamentary group gathered for a protest march in the middle of Berlin. The members of the Bundestag walked together through the Brandenburg Gate to Bebelplatz, the site of the book burning after the National Socialists came to power in 1933. Several parliamentarians carried copies of the Basic Law. At the end, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius sang the national anthem after a passionate speech.
“This is not a normal day,” emphasized parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch. The SPD feels the duty to show its colors when democracy is under pressure. For the first time since the founding of the Federal Republic, right-wing extremists were elected to a state parliament presidency. "This should alarm us all."
Union faction leader does not want to speculate
The Union parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Thorsten Frei (CDU), also said yesterday: "It is a secret election, and of course everyone is eligible." Frei emphasized that he would not allow himself to speculate on this. "The fact that this is the case is, in my view, extremely concerning and worrying."
CDU leader Friedrich Merz has not yet commented on this. Nevertheless, the debate continues about whether the "firewall" - the demarcation of the CDU from the AfD - is still valid.
“Fire wall failed”
A clear announcement about this has already come from the BSW. "The 'firewall' has failed," said federal boss Fabio De Masi to the Hamburger Abendblatt. "You have to pull the AfD out from behind the firewall. So far it hasn't had to prove anything and has been able to hide its internal contradictions. I don't want the AfD to continue to grow behind the firewall."
The Greens, on the other hand, criticized the choice. “It is a gradual normalization of the right-wing extremist land grab that we are experiencing here again - and not just, as announced, by the BSW MPs,” said co-party leader Felix Banaszak to the editorial network Germany.
Topic in the coalition committee?
The “firewall” could also become a topic at the coalition committee of the Union and SPD, which is meeting in Berlin this evening. The event is not a reaction to the events in Saxony-Anhalt, but rather takes place regularly after a three-month summer break. The focus is on the upcoming reform projects, but the SPD announced that it would also seek exchanges about Saxony-Anhalt. It is unclear whether there will be public comments immediately after the meeting.
