The German parliament is off to a rocky start as Alternative for Germany, or AfD, lawmakers took their seats among rival politicians devoted to keeping the growing party out of the mainstream.
Parliamentarians convened the first meeting of the new Bundestag with a speech from The Left party member Gregor Gysi, who as the longest-serving Bundestag member is given the honorary title “father of the House” and allowed to give an opening speech without time limits.
In his wide-ranging address that some lawmakers from rival parties performatively ignored, Gysi tried to urge the Christian Democratic Union, The Left, Greens, and Social Democrats to work together despite their vastly differing views on governance.
“We simply have to learn to respect that these differences exist,” the father of the House said. “If we want to achieve more credibility with the population, we should … not always insinuate the worst possible thing about people with different opinions.”
AfD is not welcome in this hypothetical unity movement, however, as officials in the mainstream parties have sought to place a “firewall” around the party, accusing them of being too “far-right” for modern German politics.
In fact, Gysi’s role as father of the House is itself the result of coordinated anti-AfD maneuvering.
The role traditionally went to the oldest member of the Bundestag by age, which would be sitting lawmaker and past AfD leader Alexander Gauland, 84. That current system was adopted in 2017 to ensure a member of AfD would not receive the honor.
Members of the four establishment parties have even floated the idea of legally designating AfD as an “extremist” organization, which would then open up a route to ban their party via the judiciary.
“We from the AfD are stronger than ever before,” said Bernd Baumann, parliamentary leader for AfD, during the Tuesday opening address. “You will not thwart our rise with your tricks.”
AfD doubled its support in the February election, rising from approximately 10% to over 20% of the electorate, expanding from 83 seats to 152 seats.
But with the rest of parliament committed to keeping them away from the levers of power, their second-place finish means nothing. It will require a 25% share of the Bundestag for AfD to exercise any power, that quarter-share allowing it to launch government inquiries unilaterally.
CDU parliamentarian Julia Klöckner was elected as president of the Bundestag with 383 votes, taking the reins of a parliament that can find virtually no common ground on issues such as national security, immigration, ecological concerns, and how to revitalize the country’s stagnating economy.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Klöckner, a former agriculture minister, promised to be “nonpartisan, calm, and undaunted” in her role.
“There is a very clear yardstick for me: decency,” Klöckner told her peers.
“We must conduct and endure controversial discourse … according to clear rules,” she continued. “I will take care that we deal with each other in a civilized way. And if we don’t do that, learn to.”
