AfD's Tobias Rausch elected as Saxony-Anhalt state parliament president
Tobias Rausch of the AfD has been elected state parliament president in Saxony-Anhalt, marking a first for the party in Germany.
Tobias Rausch has been elected president of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament, becoming the first politician from Alternative for Germany (AfD) to hold a state parliamentary presidency in post-war Germany.
During the vote in Magdeburg, the 35-year-old parliamentary manager received 48 votes, comfortably passing the required 42-vote threshold. With the AfD holding 39 seats, at least nine votes came from representatives outside his party. Twenty-nine lawmakers voted against Rausch, while five abstained. Outside the parliament building, around 500 demonstrators gathered in protest against the election. Reports also noted that Rausch previously faced scrutiny regarding a nepotism scandal involving family members within the party.
Sources: Correctiv, DW, FAZ, ORF, Tagesschau
How outlets assessed this
- Oct 6, 2026, 03:00 PM UTC
- Correctiv Critical Focused heavily on Rausch winning the position despite his involvement in a family nepotism scandal.
- DW Alarmed Emphasized the election of a far-right politician to the post for the first time since World War II.
- Tagesschau Neutral Reported factually on the vote outcome, parliamentary arithmetic, and procedure without explicit thematic framing.
Sources
- Correctiv — Trotz Vetternwirtschafts-Skandal: Tobias Rausch ist der erste Landtagspräsident aus der AfD
- FAZ — Tobias Rausch: Er ist der erste Landtagspräsident der AfD
- DW — AfD-Politiker Rausch wird Landtagspräsident in Sachsen-Anhalt
- ORF — Sachsen-Anhalt: Erster AfD-Landtagspräsident Deutschlands
- Tagesschau — Bundesweit erster AfD-Landtagspräsident in Sachsen-Anhalt gewählt