Left | Von Angern does not see a majority in Saxony-Anhalt without the AfD

Instead of working together to govern in Saxony-Anhalt, Eva von Angern (Left) and Sven Schulze (CDU) now lead two opposition factions. Photo: dpa/Klaus-Dieter Gabbert It was a question that was devotedly discussed in the media and the parties concerned during the election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt: Can the CDU and the Left govern together in the state? And if so: in what form and under what conditions? At times it looked as if only an alliance of unequal partners could prevent an AfD government in the state.

Since the evening of the election, all relevant considerations have been lost. The AfD won hands down; the CDU, which had ruled the state since 2001, fell dramatically. Your current Prime Minister Sven Schulze, who also took over the leadership of the parliamentary group that had shrunk from 40 to 15 members after an internal power struggle, now explains that they see themselves "as the opposition in a new role." He added that "the CDU parliamentary group will not take part in the formation of a government."

Similar tones can be heard from the Left, which is now only the fifth strongest force in the state parliament with 8.6 percent and whose parliamentary group has shrunk from twelve to eight members. The result was disappointing and a “bitter experience,” says Eva von Angern, who led her party as the top candidate in the election campaign. In the new state parliament, where she will lead the parliamentary group as she has since 2020, “I naturally see us in the opposition.” The AfD missed an absolute majority with 43.8 percent and 39 seats. But von Angern considers an all-party alliance against the right-wing extremist election winner to be at best a theoretical option: "I don't believe in concerted cooperation." The BSW, which narrowly made it into the state parliament and has five members, has accepted an offer from the AfD to explore. Therefore, comments von Angern, she sees “no stable majority independent of the AfD.”

Whether an AfD government supported by the BSW will come into being is of course an open question; At least publicly, discord is currently dominant. In the AfD there is gossip about the management staff of the BSW; Its founder Sahra Wagenknecht, in turn, told the Editorial Network Germany (RND) that behind AfD frontman Ulrich Siegmund “there are sometimes really strange characters.” The BSW continues to rely on a non-party prime minister. The SPD and the Greens have shown themselves open to the idea. She considers von Angern to be a wrong move. Installing such a “personnel without its own majority” would be “negligent.” The proposal is a "symbol that does not fulfill what it promises." However, the BSW has also announced that it may abstain from a third round of voting for the office of Prime Minister, which would pave the way for Siegmund to the State Chancellery.

According to its own announcement, the BSW in Saxony-Anhalt wants to actively elect a state parliament president proposed by the AfD. “If they do that, they can also elect the Prime Minister,” said von Angern, pointing out that the President of the State Parliament is formally the highest representative of the federal state. He will be elected at the constituent session of the state parliament, which must take place by October 6th at the latest and which von Angern will chair as senior president. The 49-year-old has been a member of the state parliament for 24 years, making her the longest-serving member of parliament.

Von Angern emphasizes that the election of the president must take place in this meeting: "We can only part when white smoke rises." The parliamentary group leader of the Left is pushing for cross-party agreements between the other factions in the event that the election of an AfD representative does not take place in the first round. According to a reform of the state constitution that was only decided in June, suggestions from other parliamentary groups are also possible from the second round. Von Angern emphasizes that she thinks it “makes a lot of sense that there are discussions about this.”

"It's about not having to suffer for five years now."

However, there will be no coalition in the opposition that goes beyond this. A challenge in the new state parliament, in which the SPD and the Greens are also represented with eight members each, will be to "maintain independence and let one's own strengths shine through," says von Angern. The Left had previously described its role as “constructive opposition” and was pleased that its own motions had occasionally been successful. This will probably no longer be the case in the future, von Angern expects: "We are preparing for a completely different opposition work." But she and her seven colleagues are prepared for this and, in addition to controlling the government, are also relying on extra-parliamentary formats, such as public hearings and technical discussions.

After the parliamentary group's first meeting, von Angern was confident that it was "well positioned in terms of expertise, content and personnel." This also applies even though six of the eight MPs are new to parliament. You had to “say goodbye to expertise”. Because three MPs in Halle and Magdeburg won their constituencies directly, education expert Thomas Lippmann and parliamentary manager Stefan Gebhardt, two parliamentary professionals placed sixth and eighth on the state list, failed. For the time being, only co-state leader Hendrik Lange and von Angern have parliamentary experience.

This is nevertheless “optimistic that we will be able to set our own accents in many places.” One of the group's first projects is an "East German Future Summit", which will be held together with colleagues from Saxony, Thuringia and the Bundestag in Magdeburg on November 2nd and to which representatives from civil society, but also from churches, will be invited. According to Angerns, it's about "not suffering through five years" but rather developing ideas and concepts to change the majority situation in the country compared to the most recent election results.

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