FDP wants away from AfD: Parliament seating arrangements: Union against exchange

FDP wants to get away from AfD
Parliamentary seating arrangements: Union for exchange

It seems like a trip to Jerusalem, but with the aim of avoiding a certain place: The FDP is currently in a renewed attempt to be allowed to move away from the AfD in the plenary hall of the Bundestag. The Union is reluctant to do this. For them, parliament is “not a carousel”.

The Union has spoken out against changes to the seating arrangements in the Bundestag. The parliamentary managing director Stefan Müller said: “The seating arrangement in the German Bundestag is not a carousel that should be turned around at will.” There is no conclusive reason to change the familiar seating arrangement, said the CSU politician. The FDP parliamentary group would like to swap places with the Union in the plenary hall of the Bundestag. So far, the AfD sits on the far right – as seen from the President of the Bundestag -, next to it the FDP, then the Union, the Greens, the SPD and on the left the left-wing parliamentary group.

More than a week ago, the FDP parliamentary group said that exploratory talks with the SPD and the Greens were currently a priority for the Liberals. At a later point in time, however, the group is definitely aiming to change the seating arrangement, “because we see ourselves as the force of the political center”. In addition, the FDP parliamentary group had had very bad experiences as a neighbor of the AfD in the plenary hall over the past four years. The sayings from the ranks of the AfD parliamentary group are often “simply unbearable”, especially for female MPs.

Other parties have also commented on a possible seat arrangement castling. The Left supports a new seating arrangement in parliament and wants to help the FDP to give up its seat next to the AfD to the Union. “Every democrat who no longer wants to sit next to the AfD has my full support,” said the parliamentary manager of the Left Group, Jan Korte. “In the opposition we had a trusting cooperation with the FDP, especially when it came to civil rights or the rights of parliament,” he added as a reason why the left wanted to support the liberals.

The FDP had already tried in 2017 to no longer have to sit next to the AfD, but it failed. However, the prospect of a traffic light coalition gives the Liberals hope that their wish can be fulfilled with other majorities in parliament.

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