Deutschlandfunk reported on Sunday that CDU lawmakers in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt apparently lied about the vote that installed their candidate as president of the state parliament, the Landtag. The broadcaster published the claim on 11 October 2026, saying the legislators gave a false account of the election.
The vote has drawn wide attention. Welt carried remarks from Landtag president Rausch, who said the AfD has become a party whose moderation people now fear. Die Linke published a piece describing a "red lighthouse against the right," while Der Spiegel's opinion section called the outcome in Saxony-Anhalt a proper path into disaster. The taz described the CDU's position after the state's vote as helpless wandering.
According to Deutschlandfunk, the discrepancy concerns how CDU deputies described their own parliamentary president election. The outlet did not, in the material available, set out the specific statements at issue or name the individuals involved.
The episode has become a broader test of how parties in Saxony-Anhalt explain their dealings with the AfD, and it has prompted commentary from across Germany's political press.
What to watch next: whether the CDU lawmakers respond to the Deutschlandfunk report and whether any formal review of the vote follows.
