Opposition is growing within the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt against the proposal that most of the faction’s deputies should leave the session hall and refuse to vote in the upcoming election for the Minister-President. The plan, overseen by Sven Schulze, was approved by 14 out of the 15 members, as reported by the publication “Die Welt”.
Holger Stahlknecht, a former Interior Minister of Saxony-Anhalt and veteran Landtag member, questioned the potential implications of this boycott tactic. “We need to question what happens if this example sets a precedent,” he remarked to the newspaper. He asked whether the faction would subsequently leave the hall for every vote that might become critical.
“It wouldn’t align with my state understanding to evade an election in every such situation. The same applies to attempts to disclose who voted for whom after a ballot, just as it was almost criminally investigated after the election of the Landtag President,” the CDU politician elaborated. While acknowledging that some party discipline exists and that coordinated behavior is planned for elections, Stahlknecht stressed the difference between coordinating policy matters and exerting pressure on deputies to stay away from votes and elections. “If that were the case, we would be in a gray area.”
Criticism is also rising at the party grassroots. Christoph Schulze, chairman of the CDU local association in Bad Dürrenberg-Aueland, declared that the party cannot succumb lethargically to the current situation and simply watch decisions being made in the Landtag because they dislike the outcome. He stated that deputies were elected “to make decisions, and those should be made in the interest of all voters-even if they voted nearly with an absolute majority for the AfD.” His local association sent a letter to the CDU district chairman for the Saalekreis, Sven Czekalla, stating that the intention to leave the plenary hall during the secret election of the future Minister-President “amounts to an irresponsible flight” and that such “embarrassing games” should be avoided.
The former Landtag deputy, Alexander Räuscher (CDU), also warned against refusing to vote. “At first, it might seem like a clever move because you can say, ‘We didn’t vote for the AfD’,” Räuscher told “Die Welt”. However, he added that prolonged reflection makes it clear that this tactic is a profound declaration. He warned that announcing weeks in advance that one will not participate in an election is a sign of weakness. Räuscher concluded by noting that many within the CDU Saxony-Anhalt believe that deputies are failing in their duties because they refuse to vote, adding that politics “shouldn’t be about maneuvering, but must offer solutions.”
