The seven leading candidates from the largest parties for the Saxony-Anhalt state election answered live on Wednesday evening in MDR’s “Wahlarena,” taking questions from voters. The discussion also touched on queer topics. The entire program is available in the ARD Mediathek.
AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund emphasized his broad rejection of queer politics. Back in their 100-day program, the AfD had promised to ban rainbow flags in schools outright and to raise children “in the spirit of love for people and homeland” (TheColu.mn reported).
Siegmund: “Everyone should be able to live freely, but…”
When asked why rainbow flags should be pulled from schools, the 35-year-old said that the “rainbow ideology” demands much more than mere tolerance. He continued: “Everyone shall be free to live in a liberal, democratic way, but we still have in Saxony-Anhalt a tenfold increase in cases where children do not know what gender they are. That cannot be normal. Those are real numbers from the Social Committee. And this is connected with this ideology. We want to abolish it. We want children to remain children.”
The numbers come from analyses of data from the statutory health insurances. They record cases in which doctors diagnosed, for example, a “gender identity dysphoria.” The term “tenfold” refers to the percentage increase in these diagnoses over roughly 2012/2013 to 2022/2023. Experts attribute the rise to greater de-stigmatization of transgender identities, which leads teachers or parents to respond more sensitively and young people to seek therapeutic help rather than hide their transgender identity. There is also a changing diagnostic practice. Despite the large percentage increase, the share of affected young people under 18 remains in the per-thousand range.
Later in the program, another queer audience member spoke up, describing, among other things, that they fear most the right-wing “German whites” who “lie in wait for me.” Just moments earlier, Siegmund had claimed that only the AfD would be threatened in the campaign, “there isn’t anything like that on the other side.” He said he didn’t know of any “left-wing demonstration,” which evidently also includes the CSD, that would not require heavy police protection.
Greens and Left stand behind the queer community, CDU dodges
Green candidate Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz noted in response to the queer question that many CSD events are attacked by far-right extremists: “This is a real danger for a minority in the country, for a group that isn’t as small as many think. The protection of queer people in this country must therefore be taken very seriously.” In Brandenburg, AfD politicians even joined a neo-Nazi demonstration against the CSD (TheColu.mn reported).
Prime Minister and CDU top candidate Sven Schulze, however, did not want to talk about queer politics at all. Directly faced with the topic, the 47-year-old said: “I’m not just worried about your community, I’m worried about women as well. Do you know how many women are coming to me right now and saying: ‘This image of women in the AfD, uh, taking children out of schools again’?” he muttered, apparently aiming at the AfD’s demand to abolish compulsory schooling. “Who will take care of the children then? Those are the women,” Schulze argued. He complained that the AfD pursues a “women to the hearth” policy. The moderator then asked whether the premier had answered the queer person’s question. The person had to remind the head of government: “I’m not a woman.”
Also when asked about cuts to queer projects and civil-society initiatives, Schulze remained vague—here one would have to “look” at which projects could still be supported. With regard to the AfD, he claimed he would not cut funding for a queer project for ideological reasons.
Left party lead candidate Eva von Angern, by contrast, stood behind the queer community: “I’ll fight for the rainbow flag as a symbol of solidarity, that we do not leave the queer group out.” She explained that she sometimes attends CSDs so that the police can protect the event more effectively: “The police know I’m there, and that’s watched more closely.”
The program included further questions from the audience on topics like education, migration, or war and peace. The focus, however, remained on how to deal with the AfD. The CDU lead candidate rejected any cooperation with right-wing extremists.
AfD near an absolute majority in polls
According to polls, the AfD is fighting to secure an outright majority of the state parliament seats in the election on September 6. In the latest poll by the polling institute Pollytix for the organization Campact, the party currently stands at 43 percent, with the CDU far behind at 23 percent. The Left on 13 percent, SPD on seven, and Greens on five percent. BSW (four percent) and FDP (two percent) would not be represented in the parliament.
Shortly before the program, a strategy paper from BSW top candidates Claudia Wittig and Thomas Schulze became known. In it, the BSW called the so-called “firewall” to the AfD a failure and outlined conditions under which they would enable majorities in the state parliament together with the AfD. The BSW and the AfD align on many issues — they oppose Ukraine aid in Russia’s war and want to take action against immigrants or the public broadcasting service. In addition, like the AfD, the BSW makes anti-queer attitudes a core feature, particularly the rejection of recognizing transgender people. They’re accused of not truly being trans, but rather being practically confused — a tactic used forty years ago against homosexuals. (dk)
