State elections: What consequences would an AfD government have for the MDR?
After winning the elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD wants to terminate the MDR state treaty. Now the question arises as to what this would mean for public broadcasting.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in Saxony-Anhalt plans to abolish the current public broadcasting system and replace it with a smaller "basic broadcasting" service if they form a government. The party's leader, Ulrich Siegmund, says they will terminate the broadcasting state contracts and free citizens from what they see as a compulsory payment and misinformation.
The AfD proposes a more regionally focused service, with reduced programming and no advertising, and wants to preserve regional television and radio offerings. The party's plans are disputed among lawyers, and it is unclear whether Saxony-Anhalt can unilaterally terminate the broadcasting state contract with the other two partner states, Saxony and Thuringia.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's report — not a translation of it. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
