Magdeburg (dpa/sa) - Several parliamentary groups on Wednesday sharply criticized the nomination of Hans-Thomas Tillschneider (AfD) as a candidate for the office of vice president in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt. "I think the AfD no longer takes its proposals seriously," said SPD parliamentary group leader Katja Pähle. "Because anyone who is being watched by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution can by no means represent this house."
The parliamentary director of the left-wing faction, Stefan Gebhardt, accused the AfD of disrespect. After all, Parliament has already made it clear that Tillschneider is unsuitable to chair the committee. CDU faction leader Guido Heuer called the personnel proposal a provocation.
AfD parliamentary group leader Oliver Kirchner admitted that Tillschneider had no chance of success. "But we do it anyway to show the people out there what tools are used here." Kirchner, for his part, clearly criticized the protection of the constitution. It doesn't need this, said Kirchner. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution "should simply leave opposition parties in peace".
The AfD has 23 out of 97 members of parliament and is therefore dependent on support from other groups. The parliamentary group has failed several times to get a vice president in the state parliament. The next attempt is to be made with Tillschneider on Friday.
Tillschneider was sharply criticized a few weeks ago because he had taken part in a trip to Russia by several AfD MPs. Eventually the politicians called it off. The state parliament later expressed disapproval and rated the trip as an "act of lack of solidarity" with Ukraine, which had been attacked by Russia in violation of international law.
