Saxony-Anhalt | Election of Tobias Rausch: Seizure of Power, Part 1

There was protest in front of the state parliament, but inside it was a tailwind for the AfD's dreams of power in Saxony-Anhalt. Photo: dpa/Hendrik Schmidt State parliament presidents, unlike prime ministers, generally do not achieve much notoriety. Most of the incumbents are probably not even known by name to citizens in their own federal states. In the case of Tobias Rausch, who is now the top representative of the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, things are different. His election is reported not only nationwide, but also abroad. It represents a turning point in the political history of the Federal Republic. For the first time since 1932, when the NSDAP man Hermann Göring came to the top office in the Reichstag, a representative of a right-wing extremist party was elected president of a German parliament.

This is not a formality. State parliament presidents have considerable influence. They can distribute speaking times, influence timetables for parliamentary action, they can discipline members of parliament by calling them to order, fill posts in the administration and exercise police rights in the House. Critics warn that in the hands of the AfD, the office could turn from being the guardian of parliament into a "baton against democracy." In addition, Rausch represents the state parliament at all kinds of official events. The fact that he, of all people, holds the office will ensure further “normalization” of the right-wing extremist party in society.

For the AfD, the election of Rausch is another step on the way to seizing power. The party, drunk with its 44 percent electoral success, is trying to leave its mark on parliament, for example by spreading its presence in the middle and pushing the other parties to the margins. Now, for the first time in her and the history of the Federal Republic, she is also the highest representative of the legislature - a symbolic success.

Today in the Magdeburg state parliament also makes it more likely that further AfD triumphs will follow. The reason for this is that MPs from other factions are acting as stirrups for the right-wing extremists. The BSW took on this role in the election of the state parliament president. The Wagenknecht party has so far refused to support an AfD prime minister. But now it has become clear that at least four other MPs have no problems helping the AfD come to power.

One can only speculate which faction they come from. The AfD itself declares that it is in talks with CDU representatives. Years ago, some of them wanted to reconcile “the national” with the social and tear down the firewall. AfD frontman Ulrich Siegmund has declared that he will stand for election as Prime Minister in December and that he only wants to complete one round of voting. Today's vote gives rise to fears that nothing more is needed for part 2 of the Magdeburg AfD's seizure of power.

Many people will suffer from this development: migrants, leftists, queer people, and the disabled. This legislative period, warns the “Saxony-Anhalt cosmopolitan” alliance, could be characterized by “devastating decisions” for democracy – initially in Saxony-Anhalt, but later also elsewhere. Finally, Warners point out that the AfD sees the country, with its mere 2.1 million inhabitants, as a “test laboratory” for a right-wing, authoritarian state restructuring elsewhere. Civil society is initially undeterred: “We will not allow ourselves to be pushed out,” asserts “Saxony-Anhalt cosmopolitan.” The protests in front of the state parliament on the day of the election were a good sign in this regard. But now the efforts of at least five years begin. Support from outside is urgently needed - so that Tobias Rausch hopefully remains the only parliamentary speaker from the ranks of the AfD.

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