The CDU in Saxony‑Anhalt has worked out a parliamentary reform package in cooperation with The Left, yet it wants no further partnership with the party. “A substantive collaboration with a left‑wing party that seeks to replace the social‑market economy with socialism is closed off for us” parliamentary leader Guido Heuer told “Spiegel”.
In the Magdeburg state parliament the CDU, the Left, the SPD, the FDP and the Greens have spent more than a year drafting a comprehensive law. The legislation is aimed at protecting the state’s constitutional court and ensuring the parliament’s operating capacity against attempts to undermine it. With state elections slated for September, the AfD currently polls at roughly 40 percent.
The law package, set for debate Thursday, is intended to “prepare democracy in the state for more complex majority situations” Heuer explained. “We’ve mainly established organisational and procedural rules that require a two‑thirds majority in the parliament”.
The Left, which could become pivotal in the post‑election coalition, interprets the outcomes differently. “The cooperation was constructive” parliamentary manager Stefan Gebhardt told “Spiegel”. “Now there is a strong democracy‑protection law, and that is a hopeful sign for the future”.