SPD parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament backs Dirk Panter as parliamentary group leader

The SPD parliamentary group in the Saxon state parliament continues to rely on financial expert Dirk Panter as parliamentary group leader. The 50-year-old was unanimously elected at the constituent meeting of the ten-member parliamentary group. "I am very pleased that the election was unanimous and that there is a clear vote and good support for what lies ahead in the coming weeks and months," said Panter.

Party leader Henning Homann also gave an outlook on the next steps. "We are ready to meet with the CDU. We want to talk about the future of Saxony and see how a stable government is also possible in Saxony." Of course, there will also be a lot of discussion about the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance. "I would like to say that we will not close ourselves off to talks with the BSW." However, there is a great deal of skepticism within the SPD.

SPD wants to talk about Saxon politics

According to lead candidate Petra Köpping - who was responsible for social affairs and social cohesion as Minister of State in the previous cabinet of CDU head of government Michael Kretschmer - negotiations for Saxony must also focus on Saxon issues. It is important for the SPD to talk about Saxon politics and "not about issues that we cannot influence here in Saxony". Köpping was alluding to statements made by BSW namesake Sahra Wagenknecht, who had spoken out against the stationing of US medium-range missiles in Germany and against further arms deliveries to Ukraine.

"We are talking about Saxony and nothing else. And as Saxons, we want to decide our own fate. We don't want to be determined from the Saarland," said Homann, referring to the place of residence of Sahra Wagenknecht and her husband Oskar Lafontaine. "And that's why we're watching with a certain amount of skepticism as people who don't even come from Saxony draw red lines for negotiations day after day. To put it clearly: foreign policy proposals are not permitted in a Bundesrat." Federal political preconditions would not help to find smart compromises for Saxony.

In the state elections on Sunday, the Saxon CDU/CSU finished just ahead of the AfD (30.6 percent) with 31.9 percent of the vote. As CDU Minister President Michael Kretschmer categorically rules out cooperation with the AfD and the Left, the CDU/CSU only has an alliance with the BSW (11.8 percent) and the SPD (7.3 percent) or with the BSW and the Greens (5.1 percent).