Overview
- Tobias Rausch of the AfD was elected president of the Saxe‑Anhalt Landtag on Tuesday, October 6, receiving 48 votes with 29 against and five abstentions according to the official count.
- The 48‑vote total exceeded the publicly expected bloc of 44 (39 AfD plus five BSW), and the secret-ballot format leaves open whether deputies from other parties quietly supported or abstained.
- The AfD reached a tactical cooperation with the small BSW party to secure the presidency, a deal that reportedly included a vice‑presidency for the BSW but stopped short of broader governing cooperation.
- Ulrich Siegmund, AfD regional leader, plans to seek the minister‑president post in December but needs an absolute majority and at least three defections or abstentions from other parties to win, a prospect mainstream parties publicly reject.
- The presidency gives the AfD control over agenda and administrative levers in the Landtag, raising concrete policy threats such as a bid to end the region's contract with public broadcaster MDR and prompting protests from NGOs and opposition figures.