Parliament - President of the state parliament wants penalties for provocations
Brandenburgs State Parliament President Ulrike Liedtke advocates for penalties for provocative behavior in the parliament in the future. "I'm in favor of introducing fines that really sting," she told the "Märkische Allgemeine" ("MAZ"). "A fine for an order call should amount to 2,000 to 4,000 Euro. That's a lot of money." The proposed immediate deduction of fines from monthly allowances was also suggested by her. "The tone in the Landtag has become more confrontational, aggressive, and less fact-oriented – especially due to the AfD fraction," said the Parliament President.
The number of order calls in the Brandenburg State Parliament has significantly increased during this legislative period. A total of 77 order calls were counted during 109 sessions up to the special session on the previous Thursday. Three quarters of the order calls were attributed to the AfD fraction. In the previous legislative period, there were a total of eight order calls, according to the President.
Liedtke, who is running for the SPD again in the September election, calls for further reforms in the parliament. "Investigative committees, but also special sessions of the Landtag should only be able to be convened if at least two factions request it," she told the "MAZ". In the final stages of the legislative period, the AfD fraction had requested four investigative committees: two on Corona politics, one on the costs of Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, and one on the RBB crisis.
The Landtag President also no longer considers the limit on Landtag seats to be sensible. "The capping at 110 seats in the electoral law must be changed," she told the newspaper. "It was once a good idea to prevent a large parliament. But the restriction is no longer meaningful."
Political scientist Robert Vehrkamp from the Bertelsmann Foundation warns against an unconstitutional distribution of mandates after the election. In his scenario, the AfD could gain more than a third of the seats in the Landtag with a result of around one quarter of the second votes. Then, the constitution could not be changed without the AfD. This would be the case if the AfD significantly more direct mandates than their second vote share would result in and, due to the capping of the Landtag size, the other parties would not receive enough compensation mandates.
Liedtke, however, does not assume that such a case will occur during the election.
- During the election period, Ulrike Liedtke emphasized the need for stricter penalties for provoking behavior during the "Call to order" in the Parliament, suggesting fines ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 Euro.
- The majority of the increased "Order calls" in the Brandenburg State Parliament during this legislative period were attributed to the AfD fraction, amounting to 77 in 109 sessions.
- Liedtke, advocating for parliamentary reforms ahead of the September election, proposes that investigative committees and special sessions of the Landtag should only be convened upon request from at least two factions.
- The AfD fraction requested four investigative committees in the final stages of the legislative period, focusing on Corona politics, Berlin-Brandenburg Airport costs, and the RBB crisis.
- In a potential post-election scenario, political scientist Robert Vehrkamp warns that the AfD could gain more than a third of the seats in the Landtag with around a quarter of the second votes, potentially allowing them to block constitutional changes due to the "Special meeting" restriction on Landtag size.
