State elections in September
Biting election poster: Thuringian CDU mocks AfD competitor Höcke
Björn Höcke: The Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers the AfD state leader to be right-wing extremist.
© Nordphoto / Imago Images
The Thuringian CDU mocks AfD state leader Björn Höcke as a clown – an unusually clear attack. How serious are the conservatives about distinguishing themselves from right-wing extremist competition?
In Thuringia it could become clear in the fall how serious this is CDU with its firewall against the right wing means. On September 1st, the people of Thuringia will elect a new state parliament, and in the polls the AfD, with its state leader Björn Höcke, who is, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, “certainly right-wing extremist,” is well ahead of the competition. Meanwhile, CDU state leader Mario Voigt is accused of not distinguishing himself clearly enough from the AfD. But now the Christian Democrats seem to be toughening their tone towards the AfD.
“For Höcke, carnival means dressing up as a democrat all year round,” says a CDU election poster that can now be seen in Thuringia. “We wish all carnivalists a wonderful, foolish time,” the poster continues, which also shows a grinning Höcke with a clown’s face:
For the Thuringian CDU it is an unusually sharp attack on competition from the right. So far, state leader Voigt has spoken out against a coalition of conservatives and right-wing populists; However, Voigt does not rule out selective cooperation on individual laws. It was only at the beginning of February that a bill introduced by the CDU, AfD and FDP to ban gender language in official texts failed in the Erfurt parliament – there were not enough members of the three parties present.
State election: Concern about “Thuringian conditions”
The CDU’s stance is likely to be decisive for the formation of a government in Thuringia after the state elections. In order to keep the AfD out of power in Erfurt, the CDU might have to join a broad government alliance – including the Left, which currently has Bodo Ramelow as head of government. However, CDU leader Voigt has so far ruled out an alliance with the Left.
The infamous “Thuringian conditions” led to difficult majority conditions after the 2019 state elections – and a scandal in the Erfurt state parliament. After weeks of stalemate in forming a government, the then FDP state leader Thomas Kemmerich was elected Prime Minister at the beginning of February 2020 – with the votes of the AfD. For the regional association, which is classified as right-wing extremist, it was a triumph that was intended to demonstrate the democratic parties and their supposed incompetence. A month later, the Erfurt state parliament finally elected a minority government made up of the Left, the SPD and the Greens.
With its biting election poster against Höcke and the AfD, the Thuringian CDU is also likely to react to the recent mass protests against right-wing extremism. On January 10th, the research network “Correctiv” uncovered a secret meeting in a Potsdam villa at which members of the AfD and well-known right-wing extremists discussed plans for the mass deportation of people from Germany. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been protesting against the AfD every weekend – including in smaller East German cities, where support for the party is often higher. The AfD has recently lost significant support in nationwide surveys.
Sources: Twitter / dawum.de / MDR