ZDF defended an interview in the “logo!” children’s news with the AfD’s top candidate for the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund. “In the end, we are not guided by the question of what shitstorm is threatening, but rather by our mission: Children need reliable information in order to be able to form their own opinion,” wrote Constanze Knuckle, head of “logo!” news on Thursday evening in a post on the LinkedIn career network. This applies “even when it becomes inconvenient”.
In the "logo!" program on the children's channel of ARD and ZDF (KiKa) on September 3rd, the former state student representative in Saxony-Anhalt, Lucienne Balke, interviewed Siegmund and Prime Minister Sven Schulze (CDU). The decision to interview Siegmund in a children's program as a representative of a party that is classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony-Anhalt was sharply criticized on social networks.
In order to advance East Germany economically, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is open to special areas. “Perhaps we also need to think about creating special economic zones,” said Merz during a visit to the Leuna chemical site. This is reported by the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” published in Halle. Special economic zones are demarcated areas in which legal exceptions, for example in tax, administrative or labor law, can apply, which are intended to facilitate investments.
A BSW election campaign stand was attacked in Magdeburg. No one was approached on Thursday afternoon, a police spokesman said. According to BSW, the stand was almost completely destroyed. The police are now investigating the background. There is a suspect. "During the course of the attack, an uninvolved man was also pushed to the ground, who was carrying his baby in his arms at the time. Fortunately, both the father and the child were uninjured and escaped with horror," said a BSW spokesman.
A protest was announced in the morning ahead of a planned AfD event with thousands of visitors in Magdeburg. The organizers of a democracy alliance said that around 100 demonstrators had registered for the counter-event. The first demonstrators gathered directly on the edge of the event site in the morning. Activists from the Center for Political Beauty are also on site with a large bus with loudspeakers. Two days before the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is expecting 10,000 visitors to a family festival.
After errors occurred when mail-in voting documents were sent in Saxony-Anhalt last week, the authorities have not become aware of any further anomalies. The district returning officers said in response to a dpa request that there had so far been no incidents of double printing of postal voting documents in their districts. A week ago, the city of Halle (Saale) announced that 1,184 postal voting documents had been printed twice. A few days earlier, a similar error occurred in the state capital Magdeburg. There, 440 ballot papers were sent twice.
The top candidate of the Left in Saxony-Anhalt, Eva von Angern, defends her refusal to shake hands with AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund. Siegmund and other AfD members incited “in the most extreme way” against them personally as well as against women, migrants and queer people, said von Angern on WELT TV. Therefore, for her it has to do with “decency” to consciously not shake his hand. However, Siegmund did not accept her no. A video of the refused handshake is currently spreading on social networks. The scene happened on a TV show. Von Angern emphasized that she has a different attitude towards AfD voters. The left must talk to people and take their problems seriously. Behind the high level of support for the AfD, many voters are worried about their existence and frustrated by the federal government's decisions. As an example, she cited the current pension debate, which concerns many people, especially in East Germany.
Demonstrations against the AfD have been announced in Berlin in the next few days around the election in Saxony-Anhalt. On Monday evening there will be a larger rally at the Brandenburg Gate from 6 p.m. entitled “NoAfD protest”. 5,000 demonstrators are registered - how many come will probably depend on the outcome of the election.
In an interview with WELT TV, AfD leading candidate Siegmund reiterated the plan to quickly introduce compulsory work for asylum seekers across the board. “There is a lot that can be implemented from day one, for example the nationwide obligation to work for asylum seekers,” he says. "This is a decree from the Ministry of the Interior. In principle, it only theoretically takes a day, then we could start implementing it." The party's government program states: "An AfD-led state government will promote and enforce the creation of compulsory work opportunities in the central state facilities for the initial reception of refugees and asylees. Furthermore, we will instruct the districts through the state administration office to establish compulsory work for asylees and refugees across the board within their jurisdiction." In particular, it should be examined “to what extent asylum seekers can be involved in the cleaning and maintenance of their central accommodation through caretaker and cleaning activities”. According to the party, the legal basis is the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act.
AfD leading candidate Siegmund continues to aim to govern Saxony-Anhalt alone. When asked about coalition options, Siegmund said in an interview with WELT TV with a view to migration, internal security and energy policy: "I currently don't see any other partner in parliamentarism in Germany with whom we could really solve these problems." The CDU has no real campaign conclusion; it is standing side by side “with Antifa (…), where German flags are forbidden,” he emphasizes. "What kind of symbolism is this? How am I supposed to save this country with these people?" According to current surveys, however, there is not enough for the AfD to govern alone in Saxony-Anhalt.
Prime Minister Sven Schulze continues to rule out participation in government by the AfD or the Left Party in Saxony-Anhalt. Would it be conceivable for him to be tolerated by the left? When asked about the move by CDU politician Sepp Müller and other CDU politicians from the north, who are taking a harder line against the Left Party, Schulze said on WELT TV: "I find it very exciting that individuals here from Berlin are now giving me advice about what I shouldn't do." There is a difference between him and those who spoke out. "I have to solve problems for this country. I don't just describe problems, but in the end it's about solving the challenges. That is often much more complicated than speaking up and saying what doesn't work."
