Election thriller in Saxony

Kretschmer at the head of minority government

Michael Kretschmer (CDU) was able to save his office as Minister President of Saxony.(Bild: APA/AFP/Jens Schlueter)

With the re-election of Michael Kretschmer (CDU) on Wednesday, a state government consisting of the CDU and the SPD has been sealed in Saxony. However, this minority government is ten votes short of a parliamentary majority. It is therefore dependent on cooperation with other parties.

It was an election thriller, as Kretschmer was unable to secure an absolute majority of votes in the first round of voting against AfD candidate Jörg Urban and Matthias Berger from the Free Voters. In the second round, only a majority of the votes cast was required. Here, 69 of the 120 mandataries voted for the CDU politician, who was thus elected Minister President for the third time.

Talks with Wagenknecht party failed
This time, however, his government is under the worst possible star. The CDU had ruled out alliances with the AfD and the Left Party from the outset. It was no longer enough to continue the previous coalition of CDU, Greens and SPD. A so-called Brombeer coalition together with the SPD and the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance could not be formed.

With the help of a consultation mechanism, Kretschmer wants to involve the other parties in projects at an early stage. They should also contribute their own proposals. In principle, this also applies to the AfD. Nevertheless, the CDU and SPD want to seek their majorities beyond the AfD, whose Saxon state association is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a right-wing extremist organization.

Kretschmer: "I am looking forward to this cooperation"
Kretschmer and SPD leader Henning Homann have repeatedly emphasized that there can be no cooperation with the AfD. The AfD has so far been isolated in the state parliament. Most recently, however, the BSW also approved an AfD motion. The Free Voters do not believe in a firewall. After his election, Kretschmer declared: "I am looking forward to this cooperation." He ended his short speech with a "Glückauf!".