Saxony-Anhalt lawmakers elected AfD politician Tobias Rausch as state parliament president on Tuesday, the first time the far-right party has held a Landtag speakership in postwar Germany.
Lawmakers in Magdeburg on Tuesday elected Tobias Rausch of the Alternative for Germany as president of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament. The Local reported 48 votes in favour and 29 against. BR24, after the full count, said 82 ballots were cast, with 48 for Rausch, 29 against and five abstentions. Rausch, 35, accepted the post.
It is the first time the AfD has held a state-parliament speakership in Germany since 1945. The party won the 6 September state election with nearly 44 percent of the vote and 39 of 83 seats, short of an absolute majority. The small BSW holds five seats and had said it would back Rausch. The secret ballot produced more yes votes than AfD and BSW seats combined.
SPD, Greens and the Left, with eight seats each according to Bild, opposed his candidacy. Hundreds of people protested outside the parliament before the session, BR24 reported. The AfD is classified as a confirmed extremist organisation in Saxony-Anhalt.
Rausch has sat in the Landtag since 2016. The speakership is a procedural post, but the result gives the AfD control of the chamber's presidency for the first time in a German state. The party still needs other votes to pass legislation.
Other parties have so far refused a coalition with the AfD. How the new parliament organises committees and whether BSW continues to supply votes will shape the next session.
People Sentiments Mixed
- Hundreds protested outside the Magdeburg parliament against an AfD speaker before the vote, BR24 reported.
- AfD colleagues congratulated Rausch in the chamber after the result.
- SPD, Greens and the Left opposed his candidacy.