Last Thursday, in a vote in the state parliament of Saxony-Anhalt, the two opposition parties (AfD and Linke) outvoted the government majority (CDU, SPD, Greens) and triggered a fierce dispute. To understand this, one has to look at how #AfD works in parliament. 1/5 https://twitter.com/i_parl/status/1305387589579481088

The debate was about the day care centre fees that the state should take over for May. AfD had put the issue on the agenda, the Left Party tabled an alternative motion. Voting is usually by show of hands, while maintaining the majorities between government & opposition. 2/5

In this case, however, AfD requested a vote count and the Linke motion received a narrow majority. Why? Many MPs had already left and the AfD had voted for the Left Party. It was not the first time that the party attracted attention with such tactical tricks or taboo breaks. 3/5

In this way, it can present itself as a "capable" parliamentary force that, unlike the corrupt "old parties", stands up for the interests of "the people". It would then be wrong to accuse the party of being uninterested, incompetent etc. - it even *sits* in parliament! 4/5

Parties, media and civil society need to understand how AfD functions and uses parliament as a "stage". The ensuing discussion about who voted with whom and who is to blame for the fact that the government now has to draft a bill will probably benefit only one party. 5/5