The Greens have criticized the CDU faction in the State Parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, accusing them of capitulating to the AfD by planning to walk out of the plenary hall during the vote for an AfD candidate for Minister-President. Irene Mihalic, a parliamentary affairs director, told the “Rheinische Post” that this move “is tantamount to capitulation to the AfD.”
Mihalic stressed that the CDU should remain in the parliament. She argued that vacating the chamber on its own was sending a damaging signal in the dispute against opponents of the constitution. Furthermore, she asserted that CDU leader Merz needed to clarify that such behavior is incompatible with the stance of a democratic party that places itself in the political center.
Mihalic also publicly accused faction leader Sven Schulze of losing control of his own group, suggesting that his faction appears to be seeking escape as a sole outlet out of fear of internal dissenters.
Previously, the CDU faction in Saxony-Anhalt had announced that it intended to leave the plenary hall en masse during the election of the AfD candidate for Minister-President. On Tuesday, the State Parliament faction approved this proposal submitted by the executive board of the faction.
This decision follows speculation concerning the recent constitutive session of the parliament. Questions had arisen regarding whether CDU deputies in Saxony-Anhalt had voted for AfD politician Tobias Rausch as the Landtag President and Hans-Thomas Tillschneider (AfD) as his deputy. While Rausch could count on the 44 votes from AfD and BSW members, he received four additional votes from other factions. Following the vote, the CDU faction internally stated it would abstain, and according to “taz,” eight CDU deputies had indeed done so. However, the actual number of abstentions recorded was only five.
