DailyDrop Germany edition No. 2 · 6:00 p.m. local edition

On Tuesday the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt elected Tobias Rausch (AfD) as its president. According to t-online, 82 members voted, 48 of them for Rausch. The AfD and BSW together hold 44 seats, so by the numbers at least four votes came from other parliamentary groups. Hans-Thomas Tillschneider (AfD) was elected vice president; the SPD candidate clearly missed the majority. The state parliament president chairs the sessions, represents the parliament externally and heads its administration. The SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag marched through Berlin in protest, and Pistorius struck up the national anthem; Klingbeil spoke of a breach of taboo and demanded that the CDU and BSW explain. Thorsten Frei (CDU) pointed to the secret ballot. AfD politicians spoke of the end of the firewall. The state parliament is due to elect the minister-president in December.

The office is high in protocol and influential in practice: it sets the agenda and the tone in parliament. That it was filled with votes from beyond the AfD raises the question of how robust the CDU’s separation from the AfD is in the states.

There are no direct consequences in everyday life. What matters is the signal: parliamentary work in Magdeburg and the coalition’s federal politics now hinge on the question of who cast the votes.

A secret ballot is a free ballot. Denying the strongest parliamentary group the office harms parliament more than it harms the AfD.

Electing a politician classified as right-wing extremist to the presidium breaks the consensus of the democratic parties. The CDU must clarify who it was.

Two questions will decide the coming weeks. First: who cast the four missing votes, and will anyone say so? Second: what will the CDU do when the minister-president is elected in December? Until then, one should not confuse either with arrangements that have so far only been alleged.

Tagesschau · Spiegel · Zeit · Süddeutsche Zeitung · Handelsblatt · t-online · Cicero · Berliner Zeitung (all Oct. 6) · alleged arrangements only from sources close to the AfD, unproven

Politics · Saxony-AnhaltPress ✓ 8 outlets · CDU votes unproven, the ballot was secret

For the first time, an AfD politician heads a German state parliament: Tobias Rausch becomes state parliament president in Magdeburg

48 of 82 votes cast were enough for the AfD candidate. By the numbers, at least four members of other parliamentary groups must have voted for him. The SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag marched through Berlin in protest.

At the opening session of the new state parliament in Magdeburg, members elected Tobias Rausch president on Tuesday at midday. Rausch has sat in the state parliament since 2016, trained as a real estate agent, and was nominated unanimously by his parliamentary group. According to t-online, 82 members cast a vote and 48 voted for Rausch. The AfD group and the BSW, which had announced its support for him, together hold only 44 seats. Because it was a secret ballot, there is no way to say who cast the remaining votes; by the numbers, at least four members from other parliamentary groups must have been among them. It is the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that an AfD politician presides over a state parliament. The vice president also comes from the AfD: Hans-Thomas Tillschneider. The SPD candidate clearly missed the majority.

In Berlin, the SPD reacted sharply. Its Bundestag group held a spontaneous protest march through the city, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius struck up the national anthem. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil called the vote a breach of taboo and demanded that the CDU explain how it came about. Thorsten Frei (CDU) pointed out that the ballot was secret and that, in principle, any member could have voted for Rausch. AfD politician Bernd Baumann spoke of a breakthrough and of the end of the “firewall” (Brandmauer). Several outlets report indications of arrangements between CDU and AfD members; so far this is unproven. In December the state parliament is due to elect the minister-president, and the AfD has named Ulrich Siegmund as its candidate.

Open the story and DailyDrop’s take

By the numbers

48votes for Rausch out of 82 cast (t-online)

44seats held by the AfD and BSW together, so at least 4 votes came from other groups

1.AfD state parliament president in the history of the Federal Republic

Investigators of the Federal Criminal Police Office arrested August Hanning on Tuesday morning; he was president of the Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005 and then, until 2009, state secretary in the Interior Ministry. His former chief of staff Manfred D. was also arrested. The Federal Prosecutor General is investigating treasonous espionage, the gathering of state secrets, attempted treason and working as an agent for a foreign intelligence service. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, Manfred D. is alleged to have procured information for Hanning since spring 2010 so that Hanning could use it profitably in his private consulting work; between 2010 and 2022 it is said to have amounted to almost 2,000 documents. In one case Hanning is alleged to have used it to prepare an analysis for an employee of a foreign security apparatus. Whether it reached the addressee could not be established, according to investigators. The proceedings go back to findings from a search by the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office in September 2025 in connection with the Christina Block case. The chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel, Marc Henrichmann (CDU), commented on Tagesschau.

The case hits the service at its most sensitive point: a former president is alleged to have siphoned data out of the BND over years. It comes one day after the public hearing in which the current heads of the services argued for more powers, and it feeds the question of how securely the services handle their own secrets.

For most readers the case has no direct consequences. It matters for the debate over more powers for the services and over more effective oversight.

There is a lot between suspicion and proof. So far only the prosecuting authority has given its word. What will be telling is whether investigators name a foreign recipient and what the investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice says.

Tagesschau · Spiegel · FAZ · Zeit · Süddeutsche Zeitung · Handelsblatt · Tagesspiegel · ZDFheute (all Oct. 6) · Federal Prosecutor General (statement, quoted) · no indictment filed

Security · JusticeSource ✓ Federal Prosecutor General · Press ✓ 7 outlets

Former BND chief August Hanning arrested on suspicion of spying. Presumption of innocence applies

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) arrested the former president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), August Hanning, on Tuesday morning, along with his former chief of staff Manfred D. The Federal Prosecutor General accuses them of treasonous espionage, the gathering of state secrets, attempted treason and working as agents for a foreign intelligence service. According to the prosecutor, Manfred D. is alleged to have obtained information for Hanning from spring 2010 onward, which Hanning used for his private consulting work; between 2010 and 2022 it is said to have amounted to almost 2,000 documents. In one case Hanning is alleged to have prepared an analysis for an employee of a foreign security apparatus; whether it reached him is unclear. Investigators got onto the trail through a search by the Hamburg public prosecutor’s office in the Christina Block case in September 2025. Hanning headed the Federal Intelligence Service from 1998 to 2005. The chairman of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel, Marc Henrichmann (CDU), commented on the arrest.

Open

Word of the day

Treasonous espionageCriminal law

Anyone who obtains state secrets in order to pass them on to, or make them known to, a foreign power or its intermediaries can be prosecuted under the Criminal Code for an offense of treason. An arrest is not a verdict; the presumption of innocence applies.

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Ahead of the coalition committee: SPD demands a wealth tax, calls for a higher inheritance tax grow in the CDU

One day before the coalition committee, pressure is growing on the Union (CDU/CSU) and the SPD. According to Handelsblatt reports, the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag is demanding a wealth tax in a position paper, distancing itself from the Union; the tax is not agreed in the coalition agreement, and the Union rejects it. At the same time, the SPD expects no decisions from the meeting. A surprising push came from the CDU: Stefan Nacke, head of the employee group of the Union parliamentary group, which has 62 members, is calling for higher inheritance taxes on large fortunes. More than 90 entrepreneurs demand something similar. Until now, a higher inheritance tax counted as a red line in the CDU and CSU.

Chancellor Merz has so far said that the coalition agreement stands and that taxes will not be raised. Handelsblatt authors counter that the government is not delivering on its promise of relief. In addition, a poll shows Hendrik Wüst clearly ahead of Markus Söder on the chancellor question, a snapshot of the mood in the Union on the chancellor question.

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DailyDrop.

For the first time, an AfD politician heads a German state parliament: Tobias Rausch becomes state parliament president in Magdeburg

By the numbers

Former BND chief August Hanning arrested on suspicion of spying. Presumption of innocence applies

Word of the day

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Ahead of the coalition committee: SPD demands a wealth tax, calls for a higher inheritance tax grow in the CDU

In brief

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