Innenministerkonferenz: AfD-Innenminister würde bei der IMK keinen Anschluss finden

Innenministerkonferenz: AfD-Innenminister würde in Deutschland keinen Platz finden

Should the AfD succeed in forming a government in Saxony-Anhalt, an Interior Minister from their ranks would not find a place in the round of regional ministers. They could attend the meetings of the Interior Minister Conference (IMK) between the federal and regional governments, but not the customary separate pre-meetings of the so-called A and B countries.

Joachim Herrmann, the current spokesman for the B countries, said on request that the CDU and CSU's decision-making stance is clear: there is no cooperation with the AfD. That rules out any AfD Interior Minister in the group of B countries. The SPD-led regional parties rule out the inclusion of the AfD in their group as well. The IMK is the conference of Interior Ministers and Senators of the German federal states, where they coordinate policy and make joint decisions.

The scope of topics is broad, ranging from A such as deportations to Z like civil protection. The Federal Interior Minister attends the meetings as a guest with speaking and proposal rights, but without voting rights. The "A countries" are informally the SPD-led states, the "B countries" the union-led ones; usually the party of the premier or premieress takes the lead.

Even in regional governments led by Green (Baden-Württemberg) and Left (briefly in Thuringia) parties, the respective Interior Ministers found a place in one of the two groups. Decisions were no longer unanimously adopted a few days ago. From now on, whatever receives a majority of at least 13 out of 16 votes in the IMK will be considered decided.

The aim was to prevent any blockage by the AfD, it said. No government change was expected in Saxony-Anhalt before the next IMK. In the Saxon state election on September 6, the AfD was the strongest force with 43.8 percent, followed by the CDU with 17.2 percent. The AfD needed three more votes for an absolute majority. AfD candidate Ulrich Siegmund wants to be the first AfD Interior Minister by Christmas, according to his own words.

At the next IMK in early December, Saxony-Anhalt will be represented by Tamara Zieschang (CDU), who will then serve as acting Interior Minister. From the perspective of Bavarian Interior Minister Herrmann, the question of what implications an AfD regional government in Saxony-Anhalt would have gets too much attention. He says they should instead discuss what matters now: major challenges facing the state - security, migration, economy, and social cohesion. For that, clear decisions, decisive action, and political responsibility are needed.