Dresden: Saxony's Premier Michael Kretschmer Warns of Potential AfD State Leader in Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony's leader warns far-right AfD surge threatens democracy in eastern Germany
Reading the AfD's election platform for Saxony-Anhalt, one can only conclude: its policies on education, science, and Europe are deeply regressive, Saxony's Minister-President Michael Kretschmer told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. "Abolishing compulsory schooling? That's madness." He also criticized the party's attacks on the churches: "They pose as defenders of Christian Western civilization—yet want to strip churches of their funding."
With the AfD polling near 40 percent, the likelihood of an AfD-led government in Saxony-Anhalt is growing. "Who holds power makes a huge difference," Kretschmer told the FAS. "This is true even at the level of a lord mayor or district administrator." For this reason, he said, the CDU is working with state party leader Sven Schulze to "prevent an AfD government from taking office."
Kretschmer, a Christian Democrat, also offered indirect support for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's SPD Minister-President Manuela Schwesig, calling her "a successful leader" and "particularly assertive." "Politicians who can shape federal decisions should be re-elected," he told the FAS.
He dismissed the idea that the AfD would lose its appeal if given governing responsibility. "The way to shrink the AfD isn't by putting it in power," Kretschmer argued. "Nor is it through mass protests or pledges never to cooperate with them. The best way to defend democracy and the rule of law is to prove that our institutions and procedures actually solve the country's problems. Right now, though, much of the public doesn't see that happening."
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