A German politician, Mario Voigt, the Minister-President of Thuringia, has called for more eastern Germans in leadership positions in the new federal government. Voigt, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), emphasized the need for a better balance in the representation of eastern and western Germany, citing the fact that the CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), have had four chancellors from western states and four from eastern states. “We must make demands” Voigt told the Spiegel, “the East must sit at the negotiating and cabinet table.”
Voigt also urged greater focus on eastern German issues, such as the development of rural areas and investments in infrastructure. He believes these points can help to dampen the popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which has been strong in eastern Germany.
Saxony’s Minister-President, Michael Kretschmer and Sven Schulze, the CDU’s state chairman in Saxony-Anhalt, have made similar calls for the eastern regions to be given priority in the new government.
In all five eastern German federal states, the AfD was the strongest party, with the party winning more than 37 percent of the vote in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt and nearly 39 percent in Thuringia. The CDU, on the other hand, won no direct mandates in any of the electoral districts.