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SPD MP urges Merz to intervene personally before Saxony-Anhalt premier vote
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Ahead of the minister-president election in Saxony-Anhalt, pressure is mounting on the CDU over possible support for the AfD. SPD Bundestag member Rasha Nasr told Der Spiegel that it is a "political poverty certificate" that a democratic parliamentary group must consider leaving the chamber because it cannot be sure how its own members will vote. She called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz to travel personally to Saxony-Anhalt before the vote, speak with the entire state parliamentary group, and make clear what is at stake. Nasr warned that if CDU lawmakers help an AfD minister-president take office, it would be a political rupture far beyond Saxony-Anhalt and would massively damage trust in the CDU as a federal coalition partner. SPD parliamentary manager Dirk Wiese also warned against any cooperation with or assistance to the AfD, saying what happened in the state parliament president election must not repeat itself, and urged the CDU to take a clear line and not refuse talks about a counter-candidate.
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Friedrich Merz — Source: Sven Hoppe/dpa
Pressure on the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt is mounting ahead of the minister-president election. SPD lawmaker Rasha Nasr is calling on Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz to intervene against any assistance being provided to the AfD in the vote.
Ahead of the minister-president election in Saxony-Anhalt, the SPD is increasing pressure on its coalition partner, the CDU. "The fact that a democratic parliamentary group has to consider leaving the plenary chamber because it cannot be sure how its own members will vote is, in my view, a political indictment," SPD lawmaker Rasha Nasr told Der Spiegel. "If directives from the parliamentary group leadership are not enough, the federal CDU must act."
Nasr continued: "I expect Friedrich Merz to travel personally to Saxony-Anhalt before the minister-president election, seek talks with the entire state parliamentary group, and make unmistakably clear what is at stake here." Should "CDU lawmakers help an AfD minister-president into office, that would be a political watershed far beyond Saxony-Anhalt," Nasr said. "That would, of course, also massively damage trust in our coalition partner at the federal level."
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Dirk Wiese, First Parliamentary Managing Director of the SPD parliamentary group, also warned the CDU. "There must be no cooperation with the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt and no assistance of any kind for them," Wiese said. "What happened during the election of the state parliament president must not be repeated in the minister-president election." The CDU in Saxony-Anhalt must "convincingly represent a clear line, dispel any doubts about its stance, and should not refuse talks about a counter-candidate."
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