MAGDEBURG — The Alternative for Germany party has secured the position of speaker in the regional parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, marking the first time a far-right group has held the office since the end of the Second World War.
Tobias Rausch, a 35-year-old estate agent who has served as a regional lawmaker for a decade, won Tuesday's election comfortably. Although his party fell short of capturing a legislative majority during last month's state election, Rausch secured the necessary backing with the help of nine outside votes.
The outcome prompted immediate criticism from opponents and sparked demonstrations outside the legislative building. More than 300 protesters gathered to voice their opposition, displaying banners with messages such as "Never again is now."
Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz, the regional leader of the Green Party, described the result as a critical turning point. She stated that a significant threshold had been crossed and vowed that critics would neither be intimidated nor remain passive regarding potential rollbacks of civil rights.
Following his victory, Rausch dismissed the longstanding post-war consensus among mainstream political parties to exclude the far right from key positions. He asserted that traditional political barriers should be abandoned.
While the speaker's duties are primarily ceremonial, the role carries administrative weight. Rausch will oversee legislative debates, manage building access, and represent the regional parliament at formal functions.
The voting breakdown revealed that the necessary support included five members from the hard-left BSW party. Additionally, observers noted that four anonymous votes contributed to Rausch's total, raising questions about whether members of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democratic Union deviated from their party's strict policy against cooperating with the AfD. Fourteen Christian Democratic lawmakers participated in the ballot, though initial plans called for abstentions from their ranks.
The AfD faces intense scrutiny regarding its platform, which includes anti-immigration policies, proposals to segregate child refugees in schools, and criticism of the LGBT community. Domestic intelligence services in Saxony-Anhalt classify the regional branch as right-wing extremist, a designation that party leadership disputes. Ahead of the session, the party successfully pushed to relocate its seating arrangement from the far-right corner to the center of the chamber.
Tuesday's gathering marked the first meeting of the newly chosen representatives following last month's election. The legislative session also highlighted ongoing political maneuvering ahead of a scheduled vote in December to select the state premier.
Ulrich Siegmund, a prominent local figure in the AfD and a close ally of Rausch, aims to secure the premiership. However, achieving that post requires a majority of 42 votes within the 83-seat chamber. The BSW has previously ruled out forming a governing coalition with the AfD, indicating instead that it intends to support an independent candidate for premier and abstain during the December selection process.
Reporting based on coverage first published by BBC News. Read the original report at BBC News.
