Firewall Cracks as Far-Right Speaker Elected in German State Parliament for First Time Since WWII

A state parliament in Germany has elected a speaker from a far-right party for the first time since World War II.

According to German news agency dpa and other reports, Tobias Rausch of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was elected speaker after securing 48 out of 82 votes in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament election on the 6th.

The election result comes as the AfD continues to score consecutive victories in state elections, threatening the ruling center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Notably, five lawmakers from the left-wing populist party Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) also cast their votes for Rausch.

The AfD holds 39 seats, making it impossible to secure the speakership alone, but with the additional 5 votes from the BSW, it was able to achieve a majority.

This is seen as demonstrating that the AfD can still secure coalition partners despite the firewall principle established by mainstream German parties vowing not to cooperate with the AfD, raising concerns that it could mark a significant turning point in post-war German political history.

In his acceptance speech, Rausch said, "I will take different opinions seriously and make decisions in a transparent manner."

A former real estate agent, Rausch is also a close associate of Ulrich Siegmund, the AfD's candidate for state premier in Saxony-Anhalt.

For Siegmund to become state premier, he would once again have to cross the firewall and join hands with another party.

However, the BSW, which supported Rausch in this election, maintains its stance that it will only tolerate the formation of an AfD-led government if a non-partisan figure leads the state administration.

Although the AfD won last month's state election, it failed to secure a majority of seats, leaving it needing to form a coalition or a minority government by December.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.