Left after the election in Saxony-Anhalt: No more constructive opposition

In the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt there is a mathematical majority without the AfD. But Eva von Angern does not believe that the five other factions will develop common positions. At a press conference on Wednesday, the left-wing politician, who was re-elected as parliamentary group leader, said that the BSW was “too indifferent” for that. And a non-partisan Prime Minister like the one proposed by the BSW? “We don’t believe in this idea.”

In the state elections almost two weeks ago, the Left received 8.6 percent. This means that it has four fewer MPs than in the previous electoral term. Even the previous parliamentary managing director, Stefan Gebhardt, no longer received a mandate. The party had previously received up to 14 percent in surveys.

For von Angern, one explanation is that before the election, various actors called for tactical voting for the Greens and the SPD in order to prevent an AfD majority. Despite the defeat, her party wants to remain active in the area, for example with family celebrations. But the faction also wants to develop “power” with the remaining eight leftists.

The Left sees itself in a new role in the state parliament. In recent years, it has repeatedly submitted its own motions as a “constructive opposition” and has won majorities in parliament for them. But after the state elections there is no prospect for this, explained the parliamentary group leader.

Instead, the Left is preparing to ensure protection for civil society, said von Angern. Your group plans to get involved in the extra-parliamentary area. In addition, she wants to use small and large requests to “ensure maximum transparency in government actions” – no matter who is in government.

Von Angern emphasized that it was still unclear who would become Prime Minister and who would then be able to organize majorities in order to pass a state budget, for example. “We as a democracy are currently in a deep crisis,” said the left-wing politician.

In the state election, the AfD received around 44 percent of the vote. Although she had previously declared that she only wanted to govern with her own majority, she then offered the other parties exploratory talks for a joint coalition. Only the BSW addressed this. However, founder Sahra Wagenknecht's party in Saxony-Anhalt has ruled out becoming part of a government. Instead, it is about “factual cooperation”.

On the other side of parliament, the Greens and SPD have shown themselves open to talking about a cross-party prime minister. Green Party leader Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz told taz: An independent candidate is “the last straw if we want to prevent both a fascist government and a blockade in the country.”

Sven Schulze, incumbent Prime Minister and chairman of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt, expressed skepticism in the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung about a cross-party Prime Minister. But his group wants to discuss it.

The state parliament will meet for the first time on October 6th at the latest. Eva von Angern then chairs this constitutive meeting. As the MP who has been a member of Parliament the longest, she is the senior president.