Overview
- Reiner Haseloff will step down on January 27, with the Landtag scheduled to vote the next morning on electing Economics Minister Sven Schulze as minister-president.
- The government will act in a caretaker capacity between the resignation and the vote, which is set to begin around 9:30 a.m. in Magdeburg.
- Schulze needs 49 votes in a secret ballot; the CDU–SPD–FDP coalition holds 56 seats, though past personnel votes have been tight and Haseloff initially fell short in 2021.
- Coalition leaders have signaled continuity through the September 6 election, with minimal cabinet changes expected and Finance Minister Michael Richter temporarily taking on the economics brief.
- The tactic follows polls cited in reporting that place the AfD near 40% and the CDU below 30%, as Schulze—an ex-MEP with low name recognition—pitches himself against AfD contender Ulrich Siegmund, whose state party branch is described as assessed as right-wing extremist.