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Media Committee in the Magdeburg State Parliament: Is there a threat of a new Thuringia?
Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert / dpa
Seldom has the state parliament in Saxony-Anhalt been so in the public eye as it was these days.
It depends on the parliament in Magdeburg whether the increase in the radio license fee comes on January 1st or if it fails.
And there is more to it.
Behind the conflict over the fee increase is the question: How is the CDU doing with the AfD?
The answer could be groundbreaking for the six state elections and the federal elections in the coming year.
The most important things at a glance:
Why is?
As of January 1, 2021, the contribution for public broadcasting is to increase by 86 cents to 18.36 euros.
It would be the first premium increase since 2009. All 16 prime ministers had decided this in June when they signed a new state treaty, or more precisely: the »First Media Amendment«.
Saxony-Anhalt's head of government Reiner Haseloff also signed.
However, the signatures did not resolve the increase.
In the last instance, the state parliaments must approve the contract.
So far, most of the state parliaments have agreed or at least signaled that they will do so, for example in Thuringia.
Only in Saxony-Anhalt has there not yet been a majority among the MPs.
The AfD parliamentary group has categorically rejected a premium increase for years.
The CDU parliamentary group is also against it and is thus opposing its own prime minister.
Together, the CDU and AfD have a mathematical majority in the Magdeburg state parliament.
You could therefore overturn the contract.
more on the subject
Dispute over radio license fee: only losersAn analysis by Christian Buß
Coalition dispute in Saxony-Anhalt: Media Committee postpones advice on broadcasting fees
Zoff about radio contribution: Showdown in Magdeburg by Timo Lehmann and Christopher Piltz
Broadcasting license dispute in Saxony-Anhalt: CDU parliamentary group rebels against its own prime minister
However, the SPD and the Greens in Saxony-Anhalt advocate the increase of 86 cents - these two parties together with the CDU form the government in the so-called »Kenya Coalition«.
Should the CDU ultimately vote against the contract together with the AfD, the coalition partners threaten to end the cooperation.
The government would have failed with the fee increase.
After long discussions there is still no solution.
Therefore, the trend-setting vote of the media committee in the Magdeburg state parliament was postponed for a week.
The governing parties have at least bought some time.
The decisive vote in the state parliament is scheduled for mid-December.
What does the postponement of the decision in the media committee mean?
The meeting of the media committee was suspended for one week on Wednesday morning at the request of the CDU parliamentary group.
Next Wednesday, December 9th, the meeting is to continue at 10 a.m.
It was no longer possible to postpone the meeting, as an item on the agenda had already been called: the very bill that provides for an increase in the broadcasting fee.
The coalition partners CDU, SPD and Greens want to sit down and work on a compromise by next week.
A recommendation for a resolution for the state parliament session is to be adopted in the media committee.
In the past two weeks there have been a number of discussions between the MPs.
Prime Minister Haseloff and the Minister of State for Culture Rainer Robra (CDU) also tried to promote the contract in their parliamentary group.
The CDU leadership from Berlin also joined the debate in the background - so far, however, all attempts to persuade the CDU parliamentary group to change position have failed.
What role does Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff play?
Haseloff signed the contract in June, but abstained from a previous vote in March.
He had this noted in a memo when signing the agreement.
Haseloff explained in retrospect that he had by no means agreed to the increase with his signature - but only cleared the way for the state parliaments to deal with the issue.
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Politically battered: Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff
Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert / dpa
He also announced at the time that he did not see a majority in his group for the treaty.
Nothing changed in the following months.
Haseloff is accused of this, both in the CDU and among the coalition partners.
It is said that he hoped the problem would resolve itself too much, was too inactive for a long time and gambled away with this tactic of sitting out.
However, in view of the enormous challenges posed by the corona crisis, Haseloff may have lost sight of the subject and rejoined the negotiations too late.
The CDU parliamentary group invokes the coalition agreement - rightly?
On page 136 of the Magdeburg coalition agreement, it says: "When it comes to financing public broadcasting, we are sticking to the goal of stable contributions." For the CDU, this means that we have jointly agreed not to increase the fees.
In addition, CDU MPs never tire of emphasizing that they hold on to an age-old position.
In Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU has been calling for savings and reforms in public broadcasting for years, and an increase in contributions has also been repeatedly criticized.
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CDU politician Kurz: You stay true to yourself
Photo: Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert / dpa
The parliamentary director of the CDU parliamentary group, Markus Kurz, recently commissioned a research.
Employees of the CDU parliamentary group and the state chancellery should list since when the CDU in Saxony-Anhalt has been pushing for reforms.
The list is 19 pages.
Declarations of the Prime Minister's Conference are lined up with resolutions of the state parliament and press releases by the cabinet.
The first entry dates from November 2003. You just stay true to yourself and keep your word - that is the message of the CDU.
The coalition partners SPD and Greens interpret the word "contribution stability" from the coalition agreement differently, one can say: more generously.
They argue that given inflation, the contribution would not be increased, but adjusted.
The contribution would thus remain stable.
In addition, there is an independent authority in the form of the commission for determining the financial needs of broadcasters (KEF), which has been commissioned by politics to determine the financial needs of ARD, ZDF and Deutschlandradio.
The KEF had a surcharge of 86 cents.
Should the contract not be ratified by the end of the year, the broadcasters could go to court to claim the higher contribution.
Is the CDU threatening a second case in Thuringia?
When the FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich was surprisingly elected Prime Minister of Thuringia with votes from the FDP, CDU and AfD, there was a wave of indignation and a government crisis.
The case had national political consequences, CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer announced her withdrawal from the CDU top - she was accused of not getting her party friends under control.
Kemmerich was only a short-term head of government, but the political upheavals are having an effect.
Because of the corona crisis, there is still no successor to Kramp-Karrenbauers elected.
In Saxony-Anhalt, however, the situation is different than in Thuringia.
While Kemmerich's election came as a surprise in Thuringia, all the scenarios are already foreseeable: failure of the coalition, resignation of the Prime Minister, and the nationwide effects if the State Treaty fails.
Nothing can be ruled out at the moment.
Some rumors about a CDU minority government that is tolerated by the AfD.
The AfD has already made such offers, even if the federal leadership of the CDU wants to avoid this at all costs.
The federal CDU has passed an incompatibility resolution that excludes both cooperation with the AfD and the left.
Secretary General Paul Ziemiak has repeatedly distanced himself sharply from the AfD - the question is whether the CDU parliamentary group in Magdeburg follows this line.
An agreement between the coalition partners in Saxony-Anhalt would be a real surprise.
Will the coalition break up?
Even if the media committee postponed its decision: The fronts between the coalition partners remain hardened.
Fractional manager Markus Kurz, who is also spokesman for media policy, made it clear again after the meeting that his faction would stick to its no to the State Treaty in the coming week.
There is no increase in the broadcasting fee with the CDU.
The question therefore arises as to what options there are for a compromise.
One consideration is not to deal with the state treaty at all in the state parliament.
This could prevent the CDU and AfD from rejecting it together.
However, since all state parliaments have to agree to the contract, it would not come into force and the contribution increase would fail.
The Greens and the SPD reject this.
They also plead for reforms and savings in broadcasting.
However, they should only be addressed after the State Treaty has been ratified.
The Greens have proposed approving the State Treaty, but postponing the contribution increase by half a year.
It is doubtful, however, whether that would be enough for the CDU.
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