Listen: How close is the AfD to governing in Saxony-Anhalt?

Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network. EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms. Find the full transcript below: In Germany, the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won two state elections in September. Now, talks are underway to build coalitions. How close is the AfD to governing in these States? In both Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AfD won the elections a few weeks ago. But it does not have an absolute majority in either regional parliament. As for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the AFD has no prospect of forming alliances to secure a majority, and negotiations are well under way between the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Left Party to reach an agreement. Together, they hold an absolute majority. But the situation is quite different in Saxony-Anhalt. What will most likely happen, is an alliance with the BSW, the party founded by Sahra Wagenknecht. The BSW describes itself as radical left, fighting for social justice. But in practice, it takes a very hard line on migration. And it is also notably lenient towards Russia. In the end, the BSW and the AFD share similar views on a number of things, so they have been talking to build a coalition. They haven’t announced any deal whatsoever for now. But there are two things we should look at. First, the election of the AfD candidate as president of the regional parliament in Saxony-Anhalt.Tobias Rausch is the first AfD member to be landtag president. He won thanks to votes from the AfD and the BSW. This would have been enough. But he even got 4 more votes. Together, BSW and AFD have 44 votes, while Rausch received 48. That means at least four votes came from other parties, which are not supposed to cooperate with the far right. Some suspect they came from the CDU. But as Friedrich Merz pointed out, the ballot is secret, so there is no way to verify that. Now, president of the regional parliament is not a particularly powerful position. But still, it is the first time the AfD has won it, and it came as a shock in Germany earlier this month. So does this mean the same thing will happen when the regional prime minister is chosen? Well, not necessarily. The vote could take place in December. No date has been set yet. So there is plenty of time to negotiate a deal. But the fact that the AfD and the BSW managed to agree on the parliament’s president shows that an agreement is conceivable. There is something else worth noting. The two parties have just voted together on a non binding resolution on the war in Ukraine. In it, they call on Ukraine to capitulate to Russia, and demand an end to financial support for Kyiv.So again, this shows they share several positions. And in the end, even if the AfD doesn’t manage to get its candidate, Ulrich Siegmund, elected as head of the state, the AfD and the BSW could still form a majority on many votes, just as they did on the resolution about Ukraine.Which would mean a change of policy for the region. Before we wrap up, you might be wondering: what powers do German states actually have? Quite a lot, in fact. Education and culture, police and public security, media as well, since regional public broadcasters, for example, are governed by the states. Each state has its own government. And the regional prime minister leads it, much like a prime minister would, at national level. The states are also represented in the Bundesrat, a kind of senate, which takes part in drafting national laws. So yes, and AFD led regional government would mean a shift in local policies.