What a difference a chancellor makes.
On 6 September, the populists in Germany made history by winning a state election and only missing an outright majority in the Landtag (state parliament) of Saxony-Anhalt by the merest whisker.
@europa The world's pendulum is swinging right and back towards sanity. Pray it continues.
— grumpabraveheart (@grumpabrav79112) September 7, 2026
The Alternativ for Germany (AfD), long the focus of vitriol, government surveillance, harassment, and still the target of banishment efforts, had arrived in spite of all the centrist and leftist parties' efforts to isolate, demean, and destroy it.
The angst was evident in the remarks from an already politically wounded German Chancellor and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party leader Friedrich Merz. He declared the results had been a 'disaster' that couldn't be sugarcoated, even as he railed against the AfD with the old, tired aspersions that just didn't seem to ring true or scare voters off anymore.
Voters had been scared off the AfD successfully before. But, at long last, this time it was from the centrist German parties of Herr Merz, Mutti Merkel, and Olaf Scholz. The boogeymen weren't the unending cries of 'FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISTS! NEO NAZIS! RACISTS!' directed at the AfD, but the state of their country after years of broken promises from those shrieking the invectives.
Even as the shock of the tremendous AfD win lingered, the CDU and Social Democratic Party (SPD) swung into action on ways to thwart the AfD's capitalizing on this victory and possible march through any further German states.
The very next day, the calls for a ban on the party resumed, as well as the scheming to construct a firewall to bar the AfD from forming the coalition they would need, being those 3 seats short of a majority, to govern in Saxony-Anhalt.
...The AfD has to have a partner to rule Saxony-Anhalt with, but who will work with them, and, just as importantly, who would the AfD be willing to work with?
...Now, one option involves a minority government led by the AfD, in which it would need to secure support from other parties to advance its policies.
On behalf of the CDU, the party's secretary-general, Franziska Hoppermann, categorically ruled out a coalition: "There will be no cooperation with the far left or the far right."
One of the lower-tier parties, which garnered 5.3% of the vote (just enough to meet the threshold and squeak into the parliament), offered to be the AfD's partner if they would be willing to have a third-party, 'non-partisan' speaker.
The leader of AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, Ulrich Siegmund, rejected the left-leaning Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) at the time, but many felt it was more a public statement and negotiations were ongoing behind the scenes.
In the meantime, even the German state broadcasters had some bias issues to deal with, as victorious AfD representatives began maneuvering to form a government.
Was Tobias Rausch kurz vor der Sendung „Fakt ist!“ beim MDR entdeckt, lässt tief blicken. Auf dem Weg in die Maske fällt dem Parlamentarischen Geschäftsführer der AfD-Fraktion im Landtag von Sachsen-Anhalt ein Aushang auf. Darauf zu sehen ist ein Anti-AfD-Symbol. In der laufenden Sendung konfrontiert Rausch den MDR genau damit und stellt die naheliegende Frage: Wie neutral kann eine Rundfunkanstalt berichten, wenn solche Zeichen im eigenen Haus hängen? Demokratie lebt nicht von Ausgrenzung. Demokratie lebt vom Gespräch. #AfD #FaktIst #SachsenAnhalt
— AfD Sachsen-Anhalt (@AfD_LSA) September 12, 2026
What Tobias Rausch discovered shortly before the broadcast of "Fakt ist!" at MDR offers a profound glimpse.
On his way to makeup, the parliamentary managing director of the AfD parliamentary group in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament notices a poster.
It features an anti-AfD symbol.
In the ongoing broadcast, Rausch confronts MDR directly with it and poses the obvious question: How neutrally can a broadcaster report if such signs are hanging in its own house?
Democracy does not thrive on exclusion. Democracy thrives on dialogue.
The name of the show Tobias Rausch was being interviewed on translates to 'The Truth Is.' He wasted no time setting them straight.
As for speculation about working with the leftists, it turns out not only were those observers proven correct, but CDU firewall fanatics have suffered a cruel blow as well.
BSW's basic premise was 'to the victor go the spoils,' and then CDU members helped by crossing party lines to elect Tobias Rausch president of the Saxony-Anhalt Landtag yesterday.
Gratulation an Tobias Rausch (AfD), den soeben gewählten Präsidenten des Landtags Sachsen-Anhalt - und den ersten AfD-Landtagspräsidenten in der Geschichte unserer Partei. Rausch erhielt 48 Stimmen - und damit 9 mehr, als die AfD-Fraktion Mitglieder hat. Ein toller Erfolg! https://t.co/NmilRrbNXZ
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) October 6, 2026
Congratulations to Tobias Rausch (AfD), the newly elected President of the Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt – and the first AfD Landtag President in the history of our party. Rausch received 48 votes – and thus 9 more than the AfD parliamentary group has members. A great success!
Far-right lawmaker Tobias Rausch won the presidency of Saxony-Anhalt’s state parliament Tuesday, backed by the left-populists.
Rausch secured 48 votes, with 29 lawmakers voting against him and five abstaining. Forty-two votes were needed for an absolute majority. It marks the first time an Alternative for Germany politician will lead a German state parliament.
He pledged to serve the entire state, protect minority rights and apply the same rules to every party. But he also declared that “the era of political firewalls should be a thing of the past.”
The far-left Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht, or BSW, party had promised to support Rausch, citing the convention that the largest parliamentary faction gets the presidency. The move drew criticism from opponents and protesters, who said it helped normalize the AfD; domestic intelligence officials have classified the Saxony-Anhalt branch of the party as confirmed extremist.
Angry losers are stompy-footing, including (!) Germany's defense minister, Boris Pistorius.
The SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag at the Bebelplatz. At the forefront: Matthias Miersch, Tim Klüssendorf, and Boris Pistorius. The occasion for the protest march is today's election of the first AfD state parliament president in Germany.
@MaxHeimi Warum protestieren sie nicht gegen die Dinge, die die Menschen wirklich belasten: steigende Preise, steigende Sozialabgaben, steigende Steuern, steigende Schulden? Ach, so: Weil sie es selbst verursachen.
— Thorsten Alsleben (@BerlinReporter) October 6, 2026
Why don't they protest against the things that really burden people: rising prices, rising social contributions, rising taxes, rising debts? Oh, right: Because they're the ones causing it themselves.
These are the 'democracy' defenders who warn about the AfD. When the parliamentary process has worked as it should, but not to their liking, this is what the German political hierarchy is doing.
At 5 p.m., Pistorius suddenly stands up – and calls on the SPD to take to the barricades.
Boris Pistorius stands in the dark on a drinks crate when he begins to sing – with fervor and into a microphone: "Unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland." Behind him, the SPD parliamentary group joins in the national anthem, some holding copies of the Basic Law (Germany's constitution) ostentatiously, others holding signs. "Never again fascism" is written on one. Pistorius is the last on the speakers' list; before him, parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch and MP Carmen Wegge have spoken, but when videos circulate on social media shortly afterward, one person is the one who stands out above all others: Pistorius.
He speaks with a clarity rarely seen from the SPD in recent months . "What we have witnessed today is a complete taboo broken, the likes of which we haven't seen in 90 years," he says about the election of an AfD state parliament president and vice president in Saxony-Anhalt. "Namely, that democrats have served as enablers for right-wing extremists and fascists." An attack on his own coalition partner, the CDU.
It's the kind of speech one would expect from an SPD chairman, a parliamentary group leader, the chancellor, or the federal president. But it's the defense minister giving it. Pistorius's appearance also has significant political implications.
The day after, it was a major topic of conversation within the party. Pistorius's maneuver had completely humiliated the entire SPD leadership, according to members of the parliamentary group. Many were particularly wondering where party chairman Lars Klingbeil had been at the rally. Parliamentary group leader Miersch and Klingbeil had completely lost control of the situation.
They are all in meltdown mode because they suspect some of their people didn't vote for their guy, and instead?
PERISH THE THOUGHT!
...Miersch makes no secret of his suspicion that the additional votes came from the CDU camp . He then turns his attention to his coalition partner, specifically Alexander Hoffmann of the CSU. He is appalled that Hoffmann threatened to end the coalition should the SPD form a government with the Left Party in Berlin. "He should sweep his own doorstep first," Miersch is quoted as saying. The events in Magdeburg will be discussed at the coalition committee meeting on Wednesday evening.
Lars Klingbeil, the party leader, expressed a similar sentiment. He also announced that he would make his position clear in talks with the CDU/CSU leadership and the Chancellor on Wednesday.
For some in the room, however, this apparently wasn't enough of a reaction. The party members were agitated – and as if the situation weren't already tense enough, the news broke that the far-right AfD member Hans-Thomas Tillschneider had been elected Vice President of the State Parliament. It seems that not all CDU members voted for their own candidate, Armin Willingmann, a fact perceived as particularly brazen. MPs Maja Wallstein and Esther Dilcher urged a strong public show of protest. According to participants, they said they had to take a stand now – and suggested a vote on the matter.
Sucks to suddenly lose control when it's been so locked on for so long. Some even find it discombobulating and completely lose their collective composure.
Newly elected Landtag President Rausch's acceptance speech, in contrast to his opponents' street tantrums, was measured, masterful, and gracious.
Ich möchte hiermit jedem die erste Rede des neuen Landtagspräsidenten Tobias Rausch (AfD) ans Herz legen. Sie ist eine Liebeserklärung an die Demokratie. Ein Appell an Fairness, staatsmännisch und positiv vorgetragen. Davor haben unsere Mitbewerber am meisten Angst. Sie fürchten nicht, dass wir regieren, sie haben Angst, dass wir es gut tun.
— Ronald Gläser, MdB (@ronaldglaeser) October 6, 2026
I would like to heartily recommend to everyone here the first speech by the new Landtag President Tobias Rausch (AfD).
It is a declaration of love for democracy. An appeal to fairness, delivered in a statesmanlike and positive manner.
This is what our competitors fear the most. They are not afraid that we will govern; they are afraid that we will do it well.
And there are signs of more to come for the old guard to melt down over.
The fissure that blows the AfD's exile from its proper place at the table may finally be upon the political system.
BREAKING NIUS: Bei NIUS Live bestätigt AfD-Landtagspräsident Tobias Rausch, dass er von CDU-Abgeordneten ins Amt gewählt wurde. Es habe dazu klare Absprachen zwischen AfD und CDU gegeben, und die vier CDU-Abgeordneten werden im Dezember auch für Ulrich Siegmund als Ministerpräsident stimmen und ihm damit die notwendige Mehrheit sichern.
— Julian Reichelt (@jreichelt) October 7, 2026
BREAKING NIUS: Confirmed by NIUS Live, AfD state parliament president Tobias Rausch states that he was elected to the position by CDU members of parliament. There were clear agreements between AfD and CDU on this, and the four CDU members of parliament will also vote in December for Ulrich Siegmund as minister-president and thereby secure the necessary majority for him.
If those CDU members, whoever they are, continue to break ranks and vote for the AfD leader in December, the populist conquest of Saxony-Anhalt will be complete.
And Merz's worst nightmare is a living, breathing reality - a sitting AfD state government.
That truly is the fear of the centrist parties who have held disastrous sway over the country for so long. Not that the AfD would do worse.
But that they might just prove they could do better now they've been given the chance.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
Help us continue exposing Democrats' plans to lead America down a dangerous path. Join HotAir VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member