AfD Speaker Election in Saxony-Anhalt Triggers Dispute Over Possible CDU Support

The AfD's breakthrough began with September's election in Saxony-Anhalt. It took nearly 44 percent of the vote, comfortably beating Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU, according to NDTV Top Stories. That victory did not give it a majority to form a government.

On October 4, CDU parliamentary group leader Schulze said the AfD could not count on CDU votes in the election for minister-president, ARD Tagesschau reported. The election of a parliamentary speaker would soon test whether the AfD could assemble support beyond its own ranks.

On October 5, Deutschlandfunk reported that the state parliament was convening in Magdeburg for its first session after the election, with the choice of parliamentary president on the agenda.

Ahead of the vote, Euronews reported on October 6 that the outcome hinged on five BSW deputies. Their position was seen as an early test of relations with the AfD before its bid to lead the state government in December.

Rausch was elected on October 6. Deutsche Welle described him as the first far-right parliamentary speaker chosen by a German state parliament since the end of World War II. The BBC reported that his role was largely symbolic, but opponents called the result a watershed moment.

The result immediately raised another question: who had supplied the additional support? Le Monde reported that Rausch received four more votes than expected, prompting suspicions of defections among conservatives. That was a suspicion, not an established account of how individual lawmakers voted.

On October 7, Merz criticised support for an AfD parliamentary president from other parties, while the SPD abandoned its attempt to build a crossparty government, according to DIE WELT. ARD Tagesschau reported growing unrest within the CDU and Merz's suggestion that the extra votes could have come from another party.

By October 8, CDU figures were publicly offering different explanations. Deutschlandfunk reported that CDU state secretary Güler believed CDU votes had helped elect Rausch. Merz, meanwhile, suggested that SPD, Green or Left lawmakers could have supported him, raising the possibility of a false-flag operation. The supplied coverage does not establish who cast the extra votes.

The dispute now carries potential disciplinary consequences. Radtke, head of the CDU's employee wing, called for expulsions if CDU lawmakers had voted for Rausch, according to ARD Tagesschau. DIE ZEIT also reported criticism of Sven Schulze over his recommendation to colleagues before the speaker election, along with initial calls for his resignation.

The wider concern is whether parliamentary cooperation makes the AfD a more accepted governing partner. DIE ZEIT reported Banaszak's warning about its creeping normalisation. Rausch's election has shown that the party can secure support for a candidate beyond its own parliamentary strength, without yet resolving who provided it.

The next major test is the election of the state's head of government, expected in December according to Le Monde. DER SPIEGEL reported that divisions within the CDU could help the AfD's Ulrich Siegmund become minister-president, and that the AfD wanted to exploit those divisions. That remains a possible outcome, not a settled result.

Before then, watch whether the CDU establishes that its own lawmakers backed Rausch and acts on the demands for expulsions. The SPD's withdrawal from crossparty government plans also leaves an unresolved question about how parties opposed to an AfD government could assemble an alternative.