Landtag debates - Factions consult over sharper penalties in Parliament
They brawl chaotically. Some deputies rise angrily from their seats, while others gesticulate energetically with their arms. The debate on handling Ukrainian refugees in March is completely off course. Eventually, the AfD politician Tobias Rausch insults Landtag Vice President Anne-Marie Keding (CDU). "Shame on you!", Rausch shouts, dissatisfied with her chairmanship. It is interrupted. Later, the Vice President issues several order calls.
Many debates in the Magdeburg Parliament run more orderly. However, brawls and insults often occur - even during school classes and other visitors sitting up on the tribunes. "The tone in the Parliament reaches borders in parts", says FDP fraction leader Andreas Silbersack. The Parliament should not become a "screaming booth". Discussion can be conducted loudly. "But discrediting, belittling, street fight feeling – all that we don't need."
The heated atmosphere in the Parliament is mostly blamed on the AfD. The right-wing populists have received the most order calls during this legislative period. They do not feel treated fairly. "There's only one who constantly throws order calls around and that's Mr. Gallert. He often leads ideologically", criticizes Co-Fraction Leader Oliver Kirchner Vice President Wulf Gallert (Left). "An order call from him is more like a document." The AfD Deputy Sebastian Striegel is also a hated figure. "Mr. Striegel lets everything go through, even if he is called a 'Nazi'. When it is countered, there is an immediate order call", says Kirchner.
Frustration runs deep in the AfD
If a member of the parliament violates the rules, the order or the reputation of the parliament, the president or president can call them to order. If this happens three times or if an MP grossly violates the order, the president can exclude them from the session.
So far, this has not happened. However, the frustration in the AfD runs deep. "The other factions in this parliament are bending their democracy as they need it", says Kirchner. "One could almost speak of a 'democracy simulation' here. For example, our committee chairman was dismissed because of a joke", says Kirchner, looking at the removal of Ulrich Siegmund as chairman of the Social Committee. He had attended a meeting of radical right-wing circles in Potsdam. And the constant failure at elections also annoys the AfD. "We have been denied a Vice President, as the parliamentary rules actually prescribe, for over two and a half years", says Kirchner.
The AfD attempts to obtain a Vice President in nearly every session. All applicants have failed during this legislative period. Several factions have repeatedly made it clear that they do not want to elect an AfD candidate. In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD is classified as reliably right-wing extremist by the Constitutional Protection Agency.
FDP appeals to the Left and Greens as well
From the perspective of FDP politician Silbersack, it would be too short-sighted to appeal only to the AfD. "Changes must come from the left and the right. The AfD welcomes attacks as a lever to fully exploit", he says. "But if the Left and in part also the Greens give the impression that one is in a street fight, that is not fair to the Parliament."
What needs to happen to improve the tone and cooperation? The SPD-faction is in favor of introducing an Order Fine to better sanction deviations. The talks with the representatives of the other factions in the state parliament are ongoing. "It's not about a Lex AfD. All these things we are discussing also affect everyone else," says Fraktionsvorsitzende Katja Pähle.
In Bavaria, stricter instruments have already been decided. Loud or insulting disturbances of sessions can now result in up to 4000 Euro Order Fines. An Order Call is issued first. In a second step, a Order Fine of up to 2000 Euro - or up to 4000 Euro for repeat offenders - and as a last resort, exclusion from sessions is threatened.
AfD is against stricter penalties
Does that help in Sachsen-Anhalt? Links-Fraktionsvorsitzende Eva von Angern is skeptical. "I don't think an Order Fine would matter to the AfD representatives. I think the approach of the presidium, dealing consistently with the existing possibilities, is the right one. No one had to exclude anyone before, but just the threat seems to work."
The FDP is also hesitant. "Our first reaction would not be to hang penalties. I would like it if the parliament president or his deputies would simply use the tools they have more consistently," says Silbersack. "If someone dominates the entire room with their shouting, they should just be expelled from the room."
The AfD speaks out against stricter penalties. "The sanctioning possibility of the Order Call is sufficient," says Kirchner. The Greens, however, consider this insufficient. "The AfD likes to collect Order Calls and present themselves as victims again," says Fraktionschefin Cornelia Lüddemann. "It is important and necessary to expand the toolbox. In general, in society, one notices that when it comes to money, some people react and think more."
CDU-Fraktionschef Guido Heuer also draws a comparison to society. "We have to learn again in politics, as well as in society, to be properly discourse-competent without going under the threshold," he says. "One must listen to the opinion of others and at least acknowledge it. One does not have to share it, but one must accept it."
- In response to the debate's disorderly state, FDP fraction leader Andreas Silbersack expressed concern about the Parliament's tone reaching unsettling levels, likening it to a "screaming booth."
- Co-Fraction Leader Oliver Kirchner of the Left criticized Wulf Gallert, the Vice President of the Parliament, for often throwing out order calls, which he described as more like documents.
- The AfD is frequently blamed for the heated atmosphere in the Parliament, as they have received the most order calls during this legislative period, and they feel they are not treated fairly.
- Kirchner also pointed out that Sebastian Striegel, an AFD deputy, often lets controversial statements pass without consequence, leading to immediate order calls when countered.
- The frustration within the AfD runs deep, with members like Kirchner believing that other factions in the Parliament are bending democracy to their needs, creating a simulated democratic environment.
- FDP politician Silbersack believes that changes in the Parliament's tone and cooperation should come from both the left and the right, as the AfD thrives on attacks that increase their perceived victimhood.
