Germany: Did CDU lawmakers support the far-right AfD?
Lawmakers of the center-right CDU may have voted for the far-right AfD candidate for parliamentary speaker in Saxony-Anhalt. Germany's Social Democrats warn of a "unique breach of taboos."
Following events in the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, speculation is rife that CDU lawmakers may have supported the election of a far-right extremist as parliamentary speaker. Despite CDU Chairman Friedrich Merz insisting his party would not cooperate with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Tobias Rausch, a representative of a far-right party, was elected as parliamentary speaker for the first time since World War II.
Rausch received four additional votes by secret ballot, which most observers believe came from right-wing CDU lawmakers. SPD Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil emphasized the troubling nature of the situation, stating that electing far-right extremists to such an office represents a taboo brake and called for CDU and BSW (formerly Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance) to explain how this could have happened.
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