State election: What an AfD government in Saxony-Anhalt could change
AfD leading candidate Ulrich Siegmund says the sentence at almost every event: “We want to turn this country upside down.” The 35-year-old likes to add that he wants the “good old Germany” back. In its election program the AfDwhat it looks like from their point of view: rigid migration policy, changes in education, culture and state administration.
On Saturday, the AfD will meet at a party conference in Magdeburg, where a 100-day program will be presented State election will be presented on September 6th. But which points could an AfD sole government implement promptly, and where are there any hurdles? A selection.
This is quick
When there is a change of government, the top staff is replaced – the Prime Minister forms a new cabinet. It is customary for ministers to employ a few confidants in their immediate environment in addition to a state secretary, such as office managers, personal advisors and press spokespersons. This can be done within a few weeks.
The AfD could also quickly achieve the goal of cutting at least one ministry. This would involve moving departments to other buildings, which could take time.
The AfD would also like to quickly terminate the State Broadcasting Treaty. This would jeopardize the legal basis for Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk – what concrete consequences this will have and in what chronological order remains to be seen. There is no precedent yet.
The AfD could set new priorities when it comes to promoting culture. It is also possible to change the country’s advertising campaign from “#modernthinking” to “#Germanthinking” relatively quickly.
That could take time
The AfD wants to change a lot at schools and universities. For example, the curricula for history are to be revised – the goal is to provide more content on the German Empire and the 19th century.
“It takes a long time for curricula to be changed,” said didactician Andreas Petrik to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. If teaching materials are ideologically influenced or even illegal, you should sue, says the Professor of Political Education from the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Lawsuits would delay processes.
The AfD would like to offer crèches and kindergartens as well as lunch meals free of charge from the first child onwards. This is expensive; several hundred million euros would have to be found in the state budget. Siegmund has already admitted that “not everything can be implemented immediately”.
Saxony-Anhalt is not only looking for teachers, but also new judges and prosecutors in the next few years because there is a wave of retirements imminent there. The Ministry of Justice can set the course with its personnel policy in the coming years, said the state chairman of the Association of Judges, Christian Löffler.
That should be difficult
A larger exchange of civil servants and employees in the state administration, as Siegmund is striving for, would be difficult. “A number of 150 to 200 jobs seems realistic here,” he said. This does not only mean ministerial positions and their staffs, but also management positions at working level and head positions at other institutions in the country. The AfD wants to prevent its work from being blocked.
The Magdeburg Ministry of Finance points to high hurdles. It is hardly possible to dismiss civil servants, and if they are transferred they are entitled to employment appropriate to their position – so they must be employed in accordance with their qualifications. Even when employees are transferred, the new job must be equivalent to the previous one. “Both dismissals and transfers are subject to judicial review,” said a spokeswoman. In individual cases this could take a very long time.
Experts are also skeptical about pressure on the judiciary. The AfD wants to encourage judges to punish perpetrators of violent crimes with maximum severity and to make full use of the punishment range. “You can always make appeals. What is crucial is that judges are bound by the law,” said legal scholar Winfried Kluth. “I see little opportunity to influence it.”
Otherwise, tightening measures in the area of migration are at the top of the AfD agenda. However, as a federal state, Saxony-Anhalt could not regulate many issues itself, such as the abolition of the fundamental right to asylum or stronger controls at Germany’s external borders. An AfD government would be far from a majority in the Bundesrat.
Construction was underway in Parliament
In April, the state parliament passed a parliamentary reform to protect democratic institutions. For example, the election of judges at the State Constitutional Court was secured.
To ensure that the first state parliament session after the election runs smoothly, the rules for electing the state parliament president have also been adjusted. If the candidate from the strongest faction does not receive a majority, the other factions can now also submit proposals. This ensures that Parliament always elects a presidium and that the state parliament is able to function, since only one president can call meetings.
The decision is also a response to incidents in Thuringia. At the first session of the Erfurt state parliament in September 2024, there was considerable turbulence in the election of the state parliament leadership. The focus was on a tug of war between the strongest faction for the first time, the AfD, and the other four factions.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:260709-930-356415/3