PODCAST🎧: How Germany is grappling with far-right gains and rising transport costs
We're back! This week we're looking at what's happening in Saxony-Anhalt after the AfD victory, how parts of German society are fighting back against the far right, rising transport costs and preparing for autumn like a German.
Following events in the parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, suspicion has arisen that Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lawmakers may have endorsed a far-right extremist as parliamentary speaker, contravening internal agreements and disregarding CDU Chairman Chancellor Friedrich Merz's stance against cooperation with the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Tobias Rausch, a representative of the far-right AfD, was elected as parliamentary speaker in Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt's capital, on September 6, marking the first time a far-right party member held such a position since World War II. Rausch secured these votes through his own party, the Alliance for Social Justice and Economic Rationality (BSW), and four additional secret ballot votes, which are believed to have come from right-wing CDU lawmakers.
The center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) swiftly condemned the election, with Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil stating that electing far-right extremists to such an office is a taboo brake. SPD Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius led a protest in Berlin, marching to the Brandenburg Gate and Bebelplatz, where they recited the German national anthem and displayed the German Basic Law, symbolizing democracy and the rule of law.
CDU parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei expressed concern over the development, stating that the fact that this happened is "extremely troubling and cause for concern."
The AfD, having won 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, campaigned on tough immigration policies, climate change denial, and the near-total abolition of public broadcasting. However, the party does not hold a parliamentary majority. The AfD is classified as a confirmed right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
The debate over the "firewall" – the stance taken by democratic parties to rule out cooperation with the AfD – resurfaced, with SPD Thuringia Interior Minister Georg Maier warning that the CDU's continued cooperation with the AfD would contribute to its own downfall.
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