Saxony-Anhalt Gives Up Turn as State Premiers' Conference Chair

Saxony-Anhalt will initially forgo its scheduled turn as chair of Germany's Conference of Minister-Presidents, with state leader Sven Schulze saying the role is no longer appropriate under the current circumstances.

The state was due to assume the chair on Oct. 1. In a letter to the current chair, Rhineland-Palatinate Minister-President Gordon Schnieder, Schulze cited the outcome of Sunday's state election, the resulting distribution of seats and uncertainty over the formation of a government. Saxony-Anhalt's new parliament is due to convene on Oct. 6.

Schulze wrote that the annual conference could not be properly prepared and conducted under those conditions. He asked Rhineland-Palatinate to coordinate with Lower Saxony, which holds the co-chair, and submit a proposal on the next steps at a meeting of the states' chief and senate chancellery officials.

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The assumption of responsibility for coordinating between the states no longer appears appropriate.

The Conference of Minister-Presidents brings together the heads of Germany's 16 states to coordinate issues involving the federal and state governments and present shared positions to Berlin. Before the election, state leaders had already discussed whether they could prevent a possible AfD minister-president, Ulrich Siegmund, from taking the chair.

Schnieder said in August that Saxony-Anhalt would not have to assume the role if the AfD won the state premiership, noting that the rotation was not mandatory. The AfD won 43.8% of the vote, narrowly missing an absolute majority of seats. The CDU won 17.2%, its weakest result in a state election in Saxony-Anhalt. CDU, SPD, Greens and Left reject cooperation with the AfD, which is classified in the state as definitively right-wing extremist.

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The rotation is not laid down anywhere as an automatic rule.