AfD state speaker says he received votes from Merz's conservatives

The newly elected speaker of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on Wednesday that he believes he received votes from Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).

AfD lawmaker Tobias Rausch earned 48 votes in the 83-seat parliament on Tuesday, becoming the highest elected official in the anti-immigrant party's 13-year history, one month after it won a resounding victory in the election in the eastern German state. 

The result outperformed the 44 seats held by the AfD and the populist BSW, suggesting Rausch also received support in the secret vote from lawmakers traditionally opposed to working with the far-right party, a policy infamously known as the "firewall."

Speculation has centred around whether politicians from Merz's CDU may have assisted Rausch's confirmation - and whether they may also back the AfD's Ulrich Siegmund as premier in December, which would allow the party to form its first-ever state government. 

Rausch told the right-wing Nius outlet on Wednesday that he received backing from CDU lawmakers. 

As for whether they would also support Siegmund, he told dpa: "We'll only know for sure when it happens." He indicated that more would become clear at the CDU's state party conference on December 5.

The AfD's chapter in Saxony-Anhalt is deemed a "confirmed" extremist group by the state intelligence service.