Leaked CDU chat: Power struggle in Saxony-Anhalt, only 15 MPs remaining
Following the state election on September 6, an open power struggle has broken out within the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt. Internal messages from the state executive committee's chat group have been leaked to the public, revealing the extent of the anger within the party leadership following the defeat. The AfD won the election with 43.8 percent, while the CDU plummeted to 17.2 percent.
The consequences are already visible in state politics. The CDU parliamentary group in the Magdeburg state parliament is shrinking from 40 to 15 members and must hand over its largest meeting room to the AfD. The entire state executive committee has made their positions available. A completely new party leadership is to be elected at a special party conference in late November or December.
State leader and acting Minister-President Sven Schulze will not be running again, nor will General Secretary Mario Kaschunke. Bundestag member Sepp Müller, deputy chairman of the Union parliamentary group and a long-time internal party opponent of Schulze, is running for the state chairmanship. The dispute between the two camps had recently become personal: it involved allegations regarding travel expense reports, which Müller rejected and refuted with a statement of approximately 514 euros over twelve months. Schulze was elected parliamentary group leader in a contested vote of 8 to 7.
For those living in Saxony-Anhalt, the most immediate effect is this: the state has only an acting state government until a new one is formed. Based on the election results, the mandate to form a government lies with the AfD, but a new government is not yet in place.
What you should keep an eye on now: The special party conference in November or December is the next fixed date that will determine who leads the CDU in the state and what direction it will take in forming a government. Furthermore, elections will be held in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on September 20. The result there will further alter the pressure on the federal party and will also help decide how quickly a stable government can be formed in Magdeburg.