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On the eve of state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Prime Minister Sven Schulz’s open letter about the AfD’s plans is causing a stir. CDU speaks out after criticism.
Magdeburg โ On the eve of the state elections on September 6, Prime Minister Sven Schulze (CDU) sent a letter to approximately 320,000 households in the country. However, he strongly warns that the AfD wants, among other things, to abolish compulsory schooling if it participates in government. This approach drew criticism: Schulze violated the principle of neutrality by campaigning as prime minister. At the request of the CDU Saxony-Anhalt Munich Mercure responded to the accusation and denied it.
Prime Minister Sven Schulze (R, CDU) and Ulrich Siegmund (AfD) are the main candidates in the 2026 state elections in Saxony-Anhalt. ยฉ Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa
The letter from Sven Schulz, Prime Minister and leader of the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt, was addressed directly to parents, grandparents and eligible voters in Saxony-Anhalt. โDear parents, dear grandparents, dear Saxony-Anhalters,โ the letter begins. This was reported nests, right portal of former Bild employee Julian Reichelt, who has a letter. Schulze warns in the letter: โThe daily school life of your children and grandchildren here in Saxony-Anhalt could change fundamentally after these summer holidays, because in September a decision will be made about how and what our children will learn in the future.โ
Schulze fears consequences for students from Saxony-Anhalt from AfD government โ โโletter to parents
He fears that school qualifications in Saxony-Anhalt will be โdepreciated throughout the country or cease to be recognized altogetherโ if โother partiesโ implement their government programme. โThey plan to abolish compulsory school attendance and parental choice in school choice, ban 75 percent of all children from higher education, revamp curriculum on ideological grounds, and exclude children with disabilities from mainstream schools.โ
This is โthe wrong pathโ for him, writes Schulze, who also describes in the letter what he himself plans to do in school politics as the main CDU candidate in the state elections. This included increasing practical relevance, optimizing the curriculum and the subject of economics in all secondary schools from the seventh grade onwards. He also wants to ensure that “all children master German before they start school.”
This is what the AfD is planning for schools in Saxony-Anhalt
The AfD, whose education policy Schulze criticizes in the letter, calls, among other things, for the abolition of compulsory schooling in favor of so-called compulsory education, which would also allow homeschooling. The party also advocates for stricter restrictions on access to secondary schools, curriculum reviews and changes to inclusion. It was only on June 25 that the state parliament in Magdeburg rejected the corresponding AfD proposal to abolish compulsory schooling.
โParental Letterโ by Sven Schulz (CDU) met with criticism โ โabuseโ of power?
Constitutional lawyer Volker Bรถhme-Nessler, professor of public law at the University of Oldenburg, considers Sven Schulz’s actions legally problematic. Opposite nests He explained: “Even if he hides it a little: Schulze writes this letter primarily as prime minister and not as chairman of the CDU. This is evidenced by the wording and content as a whole.”
Schulze’s letter is “not a neutral newsletter from the state government, but a clear letter to voters participating in the election campaign.” Bรถhme-Nessler sees this as a violation of “the requirement of strict government neutrality during election campaigns” and argues: “What Mr. Schulze is doing here is unconstitutional.” This violates the principle of equal opportunities for parties enshrined in Article 21 of the Basic Law and is an abuse of state power by Schulze.
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CDU Saxony-Anhalt defends itself against accusations of Sven Schulz’s “letter to parents” about the AfD
The CDU of Saxony-Anhalt denies this accusation at the request of Munich Mercure from Ippen.Media: โThe campaign was carried out entirely by the regional association of the CDU, and was also responsible and financed by it. Public funds from the State Chancellery were not used for this,โ says CDU spokeswoman Andrea Oster in a statement to our editorial office. The costs of the entire measure were โfully borne by the CDU of Saxony-Anhalt.โ Approximately 320,000 recipient households were selected based on potential data after comparison with Deutsche Post.
Contrary to how the constitutional lawyer Bรถhme-Nessler assessed it, according to the CDU, the โletter to parentsโ was written by Sven Schulze in his capacity as chairman of the CDU of Saxony-Anhalt. The fact that he also calls himself acting prime minister is not an issue: “The reference to his functions as prime minister corresponds to his actual official title,” the party said.
According to the CDU, the requirement of neutrality does not prevent Prime Minister Schulze from taking part in the election campaign.
For the legal classification, the CDU of Saxony-Anhalt refers to a project by the Federal Government’s Scientific Service. Accordingly, the requirement of neutrality does not prevent government members from participating in political competition. According to the Federal Constitutional Court, if holding public office meant that the incumbent would no longer be allowed to take part in political competition, this would lead to “unreasonably unequal treatment of parties supporting the government.”
Current polls show the AfD, with around 41 percent, well ahead of the CDU, with around 26 percent. For the first time, an AfD prime minister in a German state is within reach. (Sources: own research, Nius, previous reports) (smoo)