Political Outcry in Germany Following AfD Speaker Election in Saxony-Anhalt

AfD leaders thanked the center-right CDU for backing Tobias Rausch, while Green and Left lawmakers warned of a threat to democracy.

The election of Tobias Rausch from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as president of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament has triggered sharp backlash across the German political spectrum, German newspaper Die Zeit and Polish daily Wyborcza.pl reported.

According to Die Zeit, AfD federal leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla publicly thanked lawmakers from the center-right CDU and the left-wing BSW who voted for Rausch. The candidate garnered more votes than the combined parliamentary strength of AfD and BSW.

Meanwhile, the Green Party and The Left strongly condemned the outcome, characterizing the appointment as a grave danger to democracy and sharply criticizing the mainstream deputies who facilitated his victory.