.jpeg)
AfD wins
state parliament speakership in Saxony-Anhalt with far-left backing
“The era
of political firewalls should be a thing of the past,” the newly elected
president said after taking office.
The new
elected state parliament president Tobias Rausch, center, of the Alternative
for Germany (AfD) party, sits on the podium following his election during the
constituent session of the new elected German federal state parliament of
Saxony-Anhalt in Magdeburg, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. (Jan Woitas/DPA via
AP, Pool) | Jan Woitas/Pool DPA via AP
By Milena
Wälde
10/06/2026
3:18 PM GMT+2
Far-right
lawmaker Tobias Rausch won the presidency of Saxony-Anhalt’s state parliament
Tuesday, backed by the left-populists.
Rausch secured
48 votes, with 29 lawmakers voting against him and five abstaining. Forty-two
votes were needed for an absolute majority. It marks the first time an
Alternative for Germany politician will lead a German state parliament.
He pledged
to serve the entire state, protect minority rights and apply the same rules to
every party. But he also declared that “the era of political firewalls should
be a thing of the past.”
The
far-left Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, or BSW, party had promised
to support Rausch, citing the convention that the largest parliamentary faction
gets the presidency. The move drew criticism from opponents
and protesters, who said it helped normalize the AfD; domestic intelligence
officials have classified the Saxony-Anhalt branch of the party as confirmed
extremist.
The
speaker chairs debates, enforces
parliamentary rules and represents the legislature. Rausch’s election puts the
AfD in the chamber’s top procedural office for the first time, giving the party
a major symbolic breakthrough as it seeks wider political influence.
The
party’s September election
victory gave it 39 of the chamber’s 83 seats — three short of an absolute
majority.
The next
test comes in December, when AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund plans
to seek election as state premier.
The BSW
has said its support for Rausch does not extend to Siegmund and that it plans
to abstain.
This
article has been updated
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário