AfD candidate elected speaker of German regional parliament for first time
Although Tobias Rausch's role is largely symbolic, opponents have described the result as a watershed moment.
**AfD candidate elected speaker of German regional parliament for first time**
A month after Germany’s far-right AfD won a clear victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, the party’s candidate Tobias Rausch has also been elected speaker of parliament there.
No far-right party has held the speaker’s post since World War Two, and demonstrators outside the building in Magdeburg displayed banners reading, “Never again is now”.
Even though the AfD came three seats short of a majority in last month’s election, Rausch, 35, won Tuesday’s vote comfortably with support from 9 MPs from other parties.
“The days of political firewalls should be a thing of the past,” Rausch said after the vote, rejecting the post-war agreement in German politics not to cooperate with the far right.
It was the first time since last month’s state election that Saxony-Anhalt’s newly elected representatives had met in parliament, and regional Greens leader Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz said “a line has been crossed” with the election of a far-right speaker, calling it a watershed moment.
“We will not let ourselves be intimidated, and we will not sit by when rights are curtailed either here or for people in the state,” she said.
The AfD is seen as pro-Russian and anti-immigrant, with plans to separate child refugees in schools, and as hostile to the LGBT community.
In Saxony-Anhalt it is also classified as “right-wing extremist” by domestic intelligence, a label rejected by party leaders. Until now its members had sat on the far right of the state parliament, but before Tuesday’s inaugural session it successfully argued that it should now be seated in the centre.
As the AfD’s Ulrich Siegmund spoke to reporters, protesters held up a sign saying “2026. Never again is now.”
Rausch, a trained estate agent, has been a member of parliament for 10 years and is regarded as a close confidant of local AfD leader Ulrich Siegmund, a charismatic figure who is now aiming to become state premier in December.
His new position is largely symbolic, but Rausch will now preside over debates, have the authority to control access to the parliament building and represent parliament at official events.
Although his win was secured by five MPs from the hard-left BSW, there was surprise that four other unidentified MPs also voted for Rausch. Commentators immediately wondered whether he had won support from members of the conservative CDU of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has ruled out cooperation with the AfD.
Fourteen of the CDU’s state MPs took part in the vote, but only five abstained as planned, and one unconfirmed report said four may have backed Rausch. Before the vote, all 15 had ruled out voting for the AfD.
Outside parliament, more than 300 protesters expressed anger at the AfD’s victory, and they gathered around Ulrich Siegmund as he spoke to German media.
Siegmund’s attempt to become state premier is far from certain. Like Rauch, he will need the support of 42 MPs in the 83-seat legislature.
The BSW has refused to form a coalition with the AfD and has said it would instead support a non-partisan candidate for state premier and abstain in December’s vote.