An Alternative for Germany (AfD) blocking minority in the Saxony State parliament is once again a possibility after a likely ally of the party entered the fray.
Matthias Berger, the mayor of Grimma, was elected to the parliament during the September 1 election via the rare so-called direct mandate system, despite his Free Voters (FW) party not breaking the 5 per cent threshold to win faction-allocated seats.
According to a report from Der Spiegel on September 13, Berger has confirmed he will take up his new mandate in Dresden.
The announcement has reshaped the region’s devolved parliament. Until now, while the AfD polled well enough to finish second in the Saxony elections, it failed to achieve a “blocking minority” by a single seat.
That meant, in theory, the centre and left-wing groups in the assembly could ignore the party entirely, even on issues that required a two-thirds majority vote.
Berger’s accession now looks likely to change things. While a member of a different party, the mayor is perceived as being closer to the AfD ideologically than other members of the parliament.
He has publicly spoken out in favour of politicians working with the AfD, which is forbidden by almost every other major party.
“All this AfD bashing is bad form,” he had said.
“I have never cared how people to the Right or Left of me voted, because it’s about the issue.”
Berger has also publicly expressed interest in teaming up with the AfD for the explicit reason of building a blocking minority.
If successful, that would mean senior appointments to policing and judicial bodies within the State would become impossible without the support of the populist-right faction.
Is a CDU-AfD coalition possible in East Germany? @peterliese answers this question in his interview with our Head of News @JustinStares
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