Gysi slams CDU for backing AfD president, warns health system strain over migration stance
On ARD's Maischberger show, Gregor Gysi condemned the CDU for supporting the AfD's first state parliamentary president and warned that the party's migration policy could jeopardize Germany's health system.
In the ARD talk show Maischberger, former Die Linke chairman Gregor Gysi launched a fierce attack on the CDU after it was alleged to have supplied votes that secured Tobias Rausch as Germany's first AfD state parliamentary president. Gysi drew a comparison between the AfD's migration proposals and the rise of National Socialism, asserting that such policies would threaten the nation's health-care infrastructure, including hospitals, hotels and care services.
He also denounced the CDU's partial refusal to back SPD's vice-presidential candidate Armin Willingmann, describing the development as a tragic erosion of the political "firewall". CDU policy adviser Andreas Rödder countered that the firewall had already fallen when the AfD and BSW formed a majority following the September 6 state election. The exchange underscores deepening partisan tensions over the AfD's growing influence and its controversial migration agenda.
Why it matters
The clash highlights escalating political tensions in Germany over the AfD's rise and contentious migration policies.
How this story developed
- Sep 23 Heidenau city council will vote on a motion, supported by CDU and AfD members, to reject two proposed Stolpersteine for Fritz and Martha Goldstein and instead favor a collective memorial at the Nordfriedhof.
- Sep 24 Merz faces mounting pressure after the regional setbacks.
- Sep 24 The Israeli ambassador warned of an “immediate existential threat” to Berlin’s Jewish community over alleged antisemitism in the party.
- Sep 24 After the recent Berlin vote, Die Linke’s pledge to nationalise large landlords has deepened divisions, while its need for a coalition with the Greens and SPD faces scepticism.
- Sep 24 The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance pledged support for the AfD’s speaker nominee, creating a parliamentary majority for the AfD in Saxony‑Anhalt.
- Sep 27 The council has scheduled a vote on the proposed ban.
- Sep 27 SPD and Greens issued a joint warning demanding Die Linke reject antisemitism and clan crime before coalition talks proceed.
- Sep 29 AfD parliamentary group chair Ulrich Siegmund said he will stand for the Minister-President post in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament in December.
- Oct 3 Tobias Rausch was elected speaker of the Landtag.
- Oct 3 AfD now ahead of the Union in the latest INSA Sunday poll, widening the gap.
- Oct 5 The council moved from debating the proposal to formally approving the resolution that declines new Stolpersteine applications.
- Oct 6 The party moved from campaign rhetoric to a detailed plan to expropriate apartments from eight major landlords.
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