A close vote is expected in the Saxon state parliament on the reform treaty for public broadcasting. The CDU, SPD and Green parliamentary groups intend to vote unanimously in favor, while the AfD and the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance will vote unanimously against. The Left Party has announced that it will abstain. The non-attached member of parliament Matthias Berger, who sits in the state parliament for the Free Voters, has said that he is still unsure. The CDU-SPD minority government is dependent on votes from the opposition.
As things stand, the supporters have 58 votes in favor, while the opponents have 54 or 55, as an AfD MP may be missing. More yes votes than no votes are needed for approval.
"The Greens will not be responsible for the failure of the treaty," said parliamentary group leader Franziska Schubert. "We hope that all parliamentary groups that are well-disposed towards public broadcasting will vote in favor," explained SPD parliamentary group leader Henning Homann. The Left Party criticized, among other things, the deletion of special-interest programmes. The AfD and BSW consider the planned reforms to be inadequate. CDU politician Sören Voigt expressed confidence that Saxony's parliament would approve the treaty.
