Saxony-Anhalt parliament set to elect first far-right president

A Historic First: AfD Candidate for Parliament President

It marks a significant turning point that on October 6, the first AfD President of the State Parliament is expected to be elected. Tobias Rausch embraces the völkisch ideology and is quick to help himself.

Background: The Canceled Ceremony

In the fall of 2024, numerous invitations had already been sent out for an event at the Saxony-Anhalt State Parliament. Volunteers were to gather for a ceremony in the plenary hall in Magdeburg, invited by all parliamentary members—a gesture of thanks, as in the previous year.

However, the CDU then had the event canceled in the Council of Elders. The reason: the AfD's boycott of the event. The party objected because, the previous year, a CSD activist had also received an award.

AfD parliamentary managing director Tobias Rausch stated that the party viewed the ceremony "fundamentally critically, given how it was conducted last time," due to the "special awards." On social media, his faction was more explicit: volunteer work was only being honored with "woke zeitgeist" and "ideological blinders"—and they would not participate. Other factions described these remarks as a "slap in the face of volunteers."

What to Expect from October 6

This episode offers a preview of what could unfold in the Saxony-Anhalt State Parliament starting October 6. That is when the parliament convenes for the first time in the new legislative period, following the AfD's 43.8 percent victory. It will also mark the first time in the Federal Republic that a right-wing extremist is elected as President of the State Parliament—Tobias Rausch, 35, an AfD member from the very beginning.

If elected, Rausch would occupy one of the highest offices in Saxony-Anhalt, representing the parliament externally and holding authority over the parliamentary administration. While the AfD also became the strongest force in Thuringia in 2024, none of the other parties voted for the AfD candidate at that time. In Saxony-Anhalt, however, the BSW has openly stated it will support the AfD's nominee for parliament president, calling it "parliamentary custom." Rausch? They describe him as "competent."

Tobias Rausch: A Profile

Early Life and Party Entry

Tobias Rausch was born in Lower Franconia, but his family later moved to Staßfurt in Saxony-Anhalt, a town of about 20,000 residents. After training as a real estate agent, Rausch built a housing company there, played a lot of football, and remains chairman and sponsor of two local clubs to this day. He was elected to the parish council of the Protestant church but left the church after it refused donations to the AfD.

Rausch joined the AfD very early, in May 2013, at age 23, shortly after the state association was founded. His father did the same and later also pursued a career in the party.

Political Rise

Rausch Jr. stated at the time that his goal was a "homeland-oriented policy" that "focuses on the interests of the majority, not the interests of minorities." He became the AfD's youth representative, rose quickly, and was elected to the city council and district council. In 2014, when two state chairmen resigned after just a few months due to internal disputes, Rausch became interim state chairman of the AfD. Subsequently, he supported a party radical for the chairmanship, who won: André Poggenburg—a Höcke ally who took to the streets with right-wing extremist comrades and once called the former vice president of the Central Council of Jews, Michel Friedman, a "slimy something".

Tobias Rausch supported all of this. In 2016, he entered the state parliament and found a confidant there: Ulrich Siegmund. Within the party, "Tobi" was seen as a diligent organizational talent; he rose to become deputy parliamentary group leader and later parliamentary managing director. Rausch became a central part of a crony clique around Siegmund, internally called the "poker round." Rausch handled finances and was determined to join the Finance Committee: "So you can see where the funding money goes."

Ideological Stance

Despite a moderate image, Rausch also represents the völkisch ideology of the AfD state association, which has been classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as definitely right-wing extremist since 2023—a classification Rausch dismisses as "constructed." In the state parliament, he rails against "left-green eco-madness" and against "old parties" that open the social systems "for millions of foreigners." Rausch denounces ARD and ZDF as "propaganda instruments of the status quo." When the right-wing extremist Compact magazine was initially banned in summer 2024, Rausch fumed that "unpopular government critics are being silenced."

He also shares his party's loyalty to Russia. When Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the state parliament member played foreign policy expert, citing Russian "security concerns" and warning against "one-sided attributions of blame." NATO, he claimed, had advanced "to Russia's doorstep." "This broken promise is what angers Russia."

As early as April 2022, Rausch called for the resumption of relations with Russia in culture, science, and education. At the same time, he advocated for "special classes" for Ukrainian students, to "best prepare the refugee children for their return."

Business Practices and Controversies

Rausch is considered a pragmatist by many in the party. However, while the AfD likes to denounce a "self-service mentality" among the despised "old parties," Rausch himself takes it to extremes. In December 2025, he traveled with an AfD delegation and his wife—who is employed by the AfD for €6,000 per month—to New York at taxpayer expense. At one point, Rausch employed seven staff members in his parliamentary office, including four footballers from SV 09 Staßfurt, the club he belongs to. Rausch's three siblings worked for an AfD member of the Bundestag; his brother-in-law worked for another member—who did not even recognize him in a photo provided by ZDF. In an interview with taz, Tobias Rausch stated that he now employs only one footballer in his office and only his sister still works for the AfD in the Bundestag.

In addition to his parliamentary work, Rausch continues to earn income from his real estate company as "remunerated secondary employment." Anyone calling about current rental listings reaches the mobile number of managing director Tobias Rausch directly. The company manages 176 apartments, according to its own statements, many in Staßfurt, and also handles janitorial services. Rausch told taz that he does not have to disclose the amount of his secondary income because the apartments are his property and therefore constitute asset management.

Online reviews of Tobias Rausch's real estate company include warnings such as:

• "Careful!! Read the rental contracts carefully! They try to rip you off!!"
• "If you have water in the basement, no one comes."

Path to the Presidency

The impression is that Tobias Rausch takes everything he can get. And now, the office of Parliament President. The position is well compensated with a double allowance, currently more than €18,000 per month. Rausch also intends to no longer allocate the two vice-president positions according to faction size, but according to favor: "Whoever votes for our candidate as Parliament President will receive our support in the election of the Vice President."

For the AfD, having a Parliament President would be another step toward political upheaval. The party could then dismiss the Parliamentary Director, fill positions at the State Court of Audit, and replace the Data Protection Officer. An AfD Parliament President could conduct symbolic foreign policy, traveling to Moscow, China, or to Trump. It is conceivable that he could misuse the state parliament for meetings of the New Right. He could also remove allegedly "degenerate" art from the parliament building and promote völkisch cultural funding. The President also exercises house rights and police authority within the parliament. Once seated, he is likely to stay: the President can only be removed with a two-thirds majority.

Effective oversight of the state government would not be expected from Rausch. Even before the first session, the AfD attempted to reshape the parliament to its liking. Together with the BSW, it pushed through a seating arrangement in which the AfD sits in the center of the plenary hall and the Greens on the far right. The Greens' offices were also supposed to be moved out of the main parliament building, and the AfD wanted an additional seat on committees. The party has since backed away from those demands.

Behind the scenes, AfD power brokers assure that they are not seeking confrontation with Rausch but rather pursuing a normalization course. Rausch is also one of those currently holding talks with the BSW and individual CDU members. As parliamentary managing director, Rausch has good connections to the CDU and is said to have gotten along well with the last CDU Parliament President. Years ago, Rausch said of the CDU: "We exchange information, sometimes go to lunch or dinner together." The AfD, he claimed, is a "natural" ally of the CDU.

Rausch claims to have held talks with 10 of the 15 CDU members in the new parliament. "Several" have allegedly agreed...

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