Following the clear majority election of AfD politician Tobias Rausch as the state parliament president for Saxony-Anhalt, BSW founder Sahra Wagenknecht predicts a high likelihood of an AfD candidate winning the Minister President election in December. Speaking to the Stern, she stated that the election of Ulrich Siegmund as Minister President of Saxony-Anhalt has now become probable.
Rausch secured his victory with 48 votes, which is four more than the combined mandate shared by the AfD and the BSW, which had pledged its support.
Wagenknecht suggested that she suspected these four additional votes came from the CDU faction during the secret ballot. She added that even within the CDU, many seem to realize that the protective firewall has failed completely. She noted that the currently caretaker Minister President, Sven Schulze (CDU), is apparently being supported only by about half of his party.
The party founder reiterated her intention to abstain during the election for Siegmund. She also maintained her view that a cross-party Minister President would be the ideal solution. Separately, the AfD requires three more votes in the Magdeburg state parliament to achieve an absolute majority.
