Sepp Müller | In Saxony-Anhalt's CDU, the hardliners are pushing forward

Bundestag member Sepp Müller wants to become the new state leader of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt. Photo: dpa/Klaus-Dieter Gabbert In Saxony-Anhalt's CDU, after Sunday's election debacle, there are signs of a change of course towards a stronger demarcation to the left. Bundestag member Sepp Müller is aiming for the state presidency at a special party conference in November or December. There was also a change at the top of the state parliamentary group, which had shrunk to 15 members, albeit a surprising one. Before the constitution on this Tuesday afternoon, MP Ulrich Thomas from the Harz, a conservative hardliner, had announced a candidacy against the previous chairman Guido Heuer. He was then replaced - albeit by Sven Schulze, the current prime minister and failed top candidate.

So far this year, he has been seen as a guarantor of cooperation with the Left, the SPD and the Greens in the state parliament and, on the CDU side, was instrumental in bringing about a constitutional reform passed in June, which was intended to defend democratic institutions against attacks by the AfD. A “buddy photo” that showed him and AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund in an apparently familiar pose caused severe irritation during the election campaign. This year, however, the left is still seen as a partner with integrity. It remains to be seen whether the photo or his political course did more damage to his ambitions in the new parliamentary group.

Both Thomas, who ultimately put his ambitions aside for the time being, and Müller are considered hardliners in the state CDU. After the 2019 European elections, Thomas and his party colleague Lars-Jörn Zimmer had already presented a "memorial" in which they complained that the CDU was losing its profile in alliance with the SPD and the Greens and called for the "national with the social" to be reconciled. In the Kenya coalition with the Greens, which will govern until 2021, Thomas was always seen as a cross-talker and an insecure cantonist.

Müller's credo, in turn, is that the party must not make pacts with either the extreme right or the "extreme left" in order to regain credibility with voters. “Credibility begins where adherence to principles begins,” said the 37-year-old and added: “Anyone who is open on all sides is not completely tight.”

Müller wants to succeed Schulze in the state party. He had led the association since 2021, was appointed as successor by long-term head of government Reiner Haselhoff in January and went into the state elections as the top candidate, which of course ended in a debacle for the CDU. The party that has been in power since 2001 fell from 37.1 to 17.2 percent. Instead of 40, it only has 15 members of the state parliament. None of these won their constituency outright. “It is clear to us: we have been voted out,” said Schulze. He will remain acting Prime Minister until a successor is elected. But, he emphasizes, the CDU “did not receive any government contracts.”

"We didn't get a government contract."

Müller had already explained before the election that this was due to a clear election victory for the AfD. The comments earned him a strong public rebuke from CDU federal leader Friedrich Merz on Monday, who accused him of stabbing the top candidate in the back. Müller remains undeterred and publicly contradicted the Chancellor; he represents the opinion of a majority in the state party. He is apparently not damaged by the Chancellor's scolding. It remains to be seen whether anyone in the regional association will oppose his ambitions. Schulze declared that he would not run again and thus took responsibility for the election defeat. André Schröder, who led the parliamentary group in the state parliament from 2011 to 2016, later became finance minister, but fell out with the parliamentary group in the office and resigned, was recently considered a possible successor. He has been district administrator in Mansfeld-Südharz since 2021.

Müller's statements and the new post for Schulze indicate that the CDU is not fielding a candidate in the election of a new prime minister. The AfD has 39 members in the new state parliament. However, it is three seats short of the absolute majority that is required in the first two rounds of voting to elect the head of government; AfD frontman Ulrich Siegmund would have to rely on three dissidents in other factions. The CDU, SPD, Greens and Left together also have 39 seats, and the BSW, which is newly represented in the state parliament, has five members. It has announced that it will abstain from a third round of voting in which Siegmund would be elected with a simple majority. In that case, it would be enough if a single other MP did not vote against the AfD man in the secret ballot.

Schulze and Müller rejected the scenarios that had been circulating in Magdeburg for months that CDU MPs could defect to the AfD or openly support it. The former was asked on election evening whether he was sure that none of his colleagues would switch to another party. Schulze had answered: "Yes, I am." Müller also now emphasized that he "firmly assumes" that Schulze can "put his hand in the fire" to ensure that there are no apostates.

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