AfD's Tobias Rausch Elected Saxony-Anhalt State Parliament President
Tobias Rausch of the AfD became Saxony-Anhalt's state parliament president after receiving 48 votes in the 82‑member legislature, marking the first far‑right speaker in a German state since 1945.
Key facts
- Tobias Rausch received 48 of the 82 valid votes cast in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, according to Tagesschau.
- The AfD contributed 39 votes and the BSW five votes; four additional votes came from other members, according to Tagesschau.
- Five legislators abstained, which under the state parliament’s rules are not counted toward the majority threshold, according to Tagesschau.
- This is the first time a far‑right party has held the presidency of a German state legislature since 1945, according to the New York Times and Tagesschau.
- CDU leader Sven Schulze announced his faction would abstain, but the vote highlighted internal party tensions, according to Tagesschau.
Tobias Rausch, a 35‑year‑old AfD member and ally of party leader Ulrich Siegmund, was elected president of the Saxony‑Anhalt state parliament, according to Tagesschau. He received 48 of the 82 valid votes cast during the constitutive session, according to Tagesschau. The Landtag has 83 seats, with 82 members present for the vote, according to Tagesschau.
The AfD supplied 39 votes from its own caucus, while the five members of the BSW (Bündnis Soziale Gerechtigkeit und Wirtschaftliche Vernunft) pledged their support, according to Tagesschau. Five legislators abstained, which, under the state parliament’s rules, are not counted toward the total needed for a majority, according to Tagesschau. The combination of AfD and BSW votes totaled 44, meaning Rausch needed four additional votes to reach 48, according to Tagesschau.
CDU faction leader Sven Schulze, who remains the state’s minister‑president, had announced that his party would abstain in the vote, according to Tagesschau. The Tagesschau report noted that the CDU’s internal cohesion was questioned after the election, with speculation that some CDU members may have voted for Rausch, according to Tagesschau. Following the vote, the CDU faction convened again to discuss the outcome and the leadership of Schulze, according to Tagesschau.
The election marks the first time since 1945 that a far‑right party has assumed the presidency of a German state legislature, according to the New York Times. The Tagesschau article emphasized that this development brings the AfD into a prominent institutional role in Saxony‑Anhalt, according to Tagesschau.
Context
The Alternative for Germany won the Saxony‑Anhalt state election a month before the parliamentary session, according to Tagesschau. The state’s Verfassungsschutz has classified the AfD as securely right‑wing extremist, according to Tagesschau. This electoral success enabled the party to nominate a candidate for the legislature’s presidency, according to Tagesschau.
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How this was made
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