Berlin parliament: Other parties set to reject AfD nominee for vice president
Ahead of the first session on Oct. 29, opposition is mounting to AfD nominee Martin Trefzer. The Left, CDU, Greens and SPD are unlikely to back him, according to a dpa survey.
Archive image · Photo: Gunnar Klack / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
A dispute over the leadership of Berlin's newly elected state parliament is brewing ahead of its inaugural session on Thursday, Oct. 29. The far-right AfD is entitled for the first time to nominate one of the two vice presidents and picked Martin Trefzer on Oct. 6. The Left, the CDU, the Greens and the SPD are unlikely to support him, according to a survey by the German news agency dpa.
"In the case of the AfD candidate Trefzer, there will certainly be no support from the SPD parliamentary group," said SPD whips Maja Lasić and Marcel Hopp. Greens whip Sebastian Walter said the party would examine the nomination but added that it saw none of the required qualities, such as integrity and commitment to democracy, in the AfD. AfD group leader Kristin Brinker said: "The election result of Sept. 20 must also be reflected in the composition of the presidium."
For parliament president, the Left, as the largest group, has nominated Hendrikje Klein. It is unclear whether the CDU will back her in the secret ballot or abstain. The CDU has proposed outgoing president Cornelia Seibeld as a vice president. The Left came first in the Sept. 20 election with 25.7%, while the AfD won 16.3%.