The AfD claims to have helped Kai Wegner to get elected – and then puts this into perspective again. A political scientist has a clear opinion on this.
First 71, then 79 MPs voted for Kai Wegner – in the third ballot the CDU politician was able to unite 86 yes votes. The AfD proclaims this sudden increase for itself. “Before the third ballot, the AfD parliamentary group decided to help Kai Wegner achieve the required majority,” said parliamentary group leader Kristin Brinker before the results of the third ballot were announced.
If all 17 AfD MPs had actually voted for Wegner, Berlin’s new mayor would not have achieved a majority without AfD votes: “This step was not easy for us, because we consider the coalition agreement concluded between the CDU and SPD to be the extensive continuation of red-green-red politics with some other staff,” said Brinker.
Berlin mayoral election: “AfD can say what they want”
It is not possible to determine whether only 69 MPs from the other parties actually voted for Wegner. The choice is secret.
The AfD itself relativizes its statements a few hours later: “Assume half of it,” said Brinker of the German Press Agency. In the internal group consultation before the third ballot, some AfD MPs made it clear that they did not want to vote for Wegner.
The Berlin political scientist Gero Neugebauer also takes this line. “First of all, the AfD can claim what they want. They can also claim that the earth is flat. What I see first is that they are violating voting secrecy.” In the protocol there are 86 Wegner votes, that is relevant.
Political scientist: AfD disregards the rules
According to Neugebauer, this border crossing shows that the party does not respect the rules of parliamentary democracy. “It’s like this: The AfD doesn’t think much of this system.”
It is therefore pointless to evaluate the content of the action of the right-wing populists – because that is not what they are about. “They want maximum attention. Once again, they achieved that with minimal effort.”
In the social networks, the commentators immediately split into two camps. Some called the AfD votes a scandal. The others thought the AfD announcement was a ploy to discredit Wegner’s election.
