Election of AfD state parliament president: CDU federal parliamentary group vice-president criticizes Schulze after AfD election

After the election of state parliament member Tobias Rausch as the first AfD state parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt, CDU federal parliamentary group vice-president Sepp Müller expressed criticism of Prime Minister Sven Schulze. It was a mistake for the CDU parliamentary group leader in the state parliament to publicly recommend that his party colleagues abstain in the election of the state parliament president in advance, said Müller in an interview with MDR Aktuell. Schulze did this “even though colleagues in the state parliament had apparently already announced at the parliamentary group meeting that they would vote against it.”

AfD state parliament president assumes CDU votes

Rausch was elected as the first AfD state parliament president in Germany on Tuesday with 48 yes votes. The AfD and BSW only have 44 seats in the state parliament. Because the election was secret, it is unclear from which ranks the additional votes came. Rausch himself had stated that he was also expecting votes from the CDU.

A total of five abstentions in the election also suggest that less than half of the CDU parliamentary group followed Sven Schulze's recommendation. After the CDU plummeted to 17.2 percent of the vote in the state election, Schulze was only narrowly confirmed as CDU parliamentary group leader in a competitive vote.

CDU federal parliamentary group vice-president Müller went on the offensive after the election debacle and declared that he would apply for the party's state chairmanship in Saxony-Anhalt in December. Sven Schulze is currently still holding the position of state leader, but has announced his retirement.