פוליטיקה · Germany’s firewallAfD Wins Historic Speakership—but Not Saxony-Anhalt’s Governmentנכתב 8 באוקטובר 2026 בשעה 09:08 UTCצפייהתמליל0:09The far-right AFD has won a German state parliament speakership for the first time.0:13Its Saxony-Anhalt branch is classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist endeavor,0:18and now supplies Parliament's highest representative.0:21But the party has not won the state government.0:23Can the support that elected its speaker also deliver executive power?0:2782 of the 83 legislators attended the new parliament's opening, sitting in Magdeburg0:32on 6 October 2026.0:34Eva von Engern opened proceedings at 11 a.m.0:37The ninth term Landtag then elected Tobias Rausch as its president or speaker.0:42Rausch received 48 votes in favor, with 29 against and 5 abstentions, 820:47secret ballots.0:48His election marks Germany's first far-right regional parliamentary speakership0:52since the Second World War.0:54The result establishes his victory, not the identity of any voter.0:57Hans Thomas Tilschneider, another AFD politician, won a vice presidency later that1:02day with 44 votes, but CDU politician Karsten Borschert also became a vice1:06president.1:07His vote total has not been established.1:09The AFD did not take every presiding office.1:12The decisive political question is not whether Rausch attracted votes beyond his1:16party.1:17He did.1:18It is whether those votes prove that Chancellor Friedrich Meirs's conservatives1:21crossed their own firewall against cooperation with the AFD.1:25The ballot does not establish that.1:27The AFD held 39 seats.1:29Five BSW members announced support for Rausch, bringing their combined strength to1:3344.1:34With 42 votes needed, those two parties could elect him without any CDU votes.1:39He ultimately received 48.1:41That leaves nine votes beyond AFD strength or four beyond combined AFD-BSW strength.1:46Those figures are not contradictory.1:48They use different baselines.1:49The four-vote calculation assumes all 39 AFD members and all five BSW members voted1:54as expected.1:55A public promise does not verify a secret ballot.1:57No individual CDU vote for Rausch has been established, and no named possible CDU2:02supporter has admitted casting one.2:04Even the CDU group's size remains unresolved between 14 and 15.2:08Neither number identifies the anonymous ballots.2:10A complete party-by-party seat allocation has not been established either.2:13What is public is the BSW members' announced support.2:16What remains unknown is who supplied each ballot.2:19Cross-party support for a speaker is not a coalition agreement, a wholesale CDU2:23policy reversal, or proof that its national leadership sanctioned cooperation.2:27Rausch wants political firewalls consigned to the past.2:30His victory gives that ambition an institutional platform.2:33The 35-year-old real estate entrepreneur and AFD election manager is a close2:36confidant of Ulrich Siegmund, the party's candidate seeking to lead the state2:40government.2:41The Speaker chairs meetings of the Landtag and its Council of Elders and serves as2:44Parliament's highest representative.2:46Those duties confer influence over proceedings and a prominent public platform.2:50They do not make Rausch minister president or give him the executive powers of the2:54state government.2:55About 500 people gathered on Cathedral Square on the morning of the vote, chanting2:59Nazis out.3:00The Landtag stands directly opposite Magdeburg's Cathedral.3:04The protest opposed the far right heading the chamber.3:07It did not establish which legislators supplied the votes.3:10Friedrich Mertz condemned voting for the AFD on 7 October.3:14He said it was incompatible with CDU values, damaged the party's credibility, and3:19played the extremist game.3:20The SPD demanded explanations from its CDU coalition partner, but MERS also warned3:25against premature conclusions about the vote's origin.3:28He suggested they could have come from another party and raised a possible false3:31flag explanation.3:32That possibility is speculation, not evidence of a coordinated deception.3:36His condemnation does not resolve who voted for Rausch.3:39The CDU's parliamentary leadership recommended abstention before the ballot.3:43Only five abstentions were recorded in the result.3:46Neither the instruction nor that total proves whether the CDU group complied.3:50The secrecy protects every individual member's vote.3:53The extremist designation applies specifically to the AFD's Saxony-Anhalt branch.3:58The State Domestic Intelligence Service classified it as a confirmed right-wing4:02extremist endeavor on 7th of November 2023, and that status was reiterated in4:07September 2026.4:08Saxony-Anhalt is one of three AFD state branches carrying that classification.4:13The nationwide party's federal classification followed a different path.4:17Designation on a tick in May 2025, suspension pending litigation on 8 May, and a4:22court injunction on 26 February 2026.4:25Those federal developments do not establish that Saxony Anhalt's separate state4:29designation was lifted.4:31A classification is not a court order banning the party.4:33Parties in Berlin requested a legal assessment of whether evidence could support an4:37AFD ban application.4:39No completed assessment, formal application, or initiated constitutional ban4:43proceeding has been established.4:44The parliamentary breakthrough rests on a strong electoral result, 43.8%, nearly4:5044%, in the 6th September 2026 state election.4:54That gave the AFD 39 of the chamber's 83 seats short of an outright majority.4:59Votes for its presiding officers do not necessarily translate into votes for an5:03AFD-led cabinet.5:04Ulrich Siegmund still has to assemble support to become minister president.5:08The parliamentary vote is expected in December 2026.5:12No exact voting day or independently verified statutory formation deadline has been5:16established.5:17The AFD also aims to challenge for national power in 2029.5:21Those remain ambitions, not secured outcomes.5:24The answer to whether the Speaker's majority can deliver executive power is still5:27unknown.5:28Neither the secret ballot nor the vice presidency vote establishes a majority for5:32Siegmund.5:33Electing him Minister President would give the AFD executive authority that Rausch's5:37parliamentary office does not confer.קריאת הכתבהציר הזמן של הסיפורHeyDexהסרטון הקצר ↗מי דיווח על מהנקודות שדיווח עליהן יותר מכלי תקשורת אחד✓Election of the Saxony-Anhalt parliament speakerאושר באופן עצמאי · שני כלי תקשורת✓Historical significance of the electionאושר באופן עצמאי · שני כלי תקשורת✓Votes received by Rauschאושר באופן עצמאי · שני כלי תקשורתSupport and other-party votes for Rauschשני כלי תקשורתVotes cast against Rauschשני כלי תקשורתנקודות שדיווח עליהן רק כלי תקשורת אחד19דווח רק על ידי DW NewsIntelligence classification of AfD state branches7 באוק׳, 22:45 UTCRausch’s call to end political firewalls7 באוק׳, 22:45 UTCScheduled vote for state premier7 באוק׳, 22:45 UTCMerz’s response to the speaker election7 באוק׳, 22:45 UTCElection’s effect on the Brandmauer6 באוק׳, 13:25 UTCProtest outside the state parliament7 באוק׳, 22:45 UTCSocial Democratic protest in Berlin7 באוק׳, 22:45 UTCSpeaker’s role in parliamentary proceedings6 באוק׳, 13:25 UTCWhether the speaker ballot was secret7 באוק׳, 22:45 UTCVotes needed to elect the speaker6 באוק׳, 13:25 UTCדווח רק על ידי The GuardianElection of the deputy speaker6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCAfD support in the state election6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCDeadline to form a state government6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCBSW condition for supporting an AfD-led parliament6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCVotes received by Tillschneider6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCAfD response to the BSW condition6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCAfD parliamentary group seat count6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCUncertainty over support for Tillschneider6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCSiegmund’s account of coalition negotiations6 באוק׳, 15:38 UTCכל שורה היא הטענה כפי שתיעדנו אותה מהדיווח של אותו כלי תקשורת. הושווה נכון ל-8 באוקטובר 2026 בשעה 00:02 UTC.
