Germany Elects Its First Far-Right Parliament Speaker Since World War II

A politician from Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, known as the AfD, has been elected as the speaker of a state parliament. His name is Tobias Rausch, and he won the vote on Tuesday in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. This is the first time since World War II that a far-right politician has held this kind of top role in a German parliament. Many people in Germany are worried about what this could mean for the country's future.

Rausch, who is 35 years old and used to work as a real estate agent, won 48 out of 82 votes. The vote took place in Magdeburg, the capital city of Saxony-Anhalt. Twenty-nine people voted against him, and five did not vote at all. Later that same day, another AfD member named Hans-Thomas Tillschneider was also elected as Rausch's deputy, or second-in-command.

The AfD did very well in last month's state elections, winning nearly 44 percent of the vote. That was a big shock for Germany's national leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and his party, the CDU. The AfD holds 39 seats in the state parliament, which is just below the number needed to have a majority and make decisions on their own. Germany's intelligence agency in Saxony-Anhalt has labeled the AfD as 'rightwing extremist,' meaning officials believe the party goes against democratic values.

For years, other political parties in Germany followed an unwritten rule called the 'firewall.' This meant they agreed never to work with or support the AfD. However, a small left-wing party called the BSW decided to break that rule by voting for Rausch. The BSW's founder, Sahra Wagenknecht, said it was time to stop what she called 'firewall idiocy.' Her deputy added that the votes of nearly 44 percent of citizens could not simply be ignored.

Tillschneider, who won 44 votes, is known for having very extreme views. He has called Russian President Vladimir Putin 'a real man with a sound set of values' and made harsh comments about immigrants. He studied Islam at a university level but has used offensive language to describe the religion. Interestingly, his own family moved to Germany from Romania in the 1980s, making him a descendant of immigrants himself.

In his acceptance speech, Rausch promised to respect all opinions and make decisions in an open and fair way. His own party members and the BSW members clapped for him, but other politicians in the room stayed silent. Rausch has also been at the center of a scandal involving nepotism, which means giving jobs to family members unfairly. He denied hiring his siblings but admitted he did give jobs to players from his local football club.

Some politicians compared what is happening now to a dark moment in German history. Eva von Angern, a lawmaker from the Die Linke party, pointed out that in the 1930s, a Nazi leader named Hermann Göring used the role of parliament speaker to help Adolf Hitler rise to power. She warned that the AfD's growing influence was already having real effects, such as fewer tourists visiting the state and teachers choosing not to apply for jobs there.

The AfD's strong results in Saxony-Anhalt and two other state elections have put a lot of pressure on Chancellor Merz. When he took office in 2025, he promised to cut the AfD's support in half by improving the economy and reducing immigration. But so far, the opposite has happened — his own party's support has dropped, while the AfD has grown to 30 percent in national polls. The AfD's leader in the state, Ulrich Siegmund, now has until December to try to form a new state government.