State election
Democracy in danger? What experts advise Thuringia
Björn Höcke is the chairman of the AfD in Thuringia (archive photo). photo
© Martin Schutt/dpa
A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on September 1st. The AfD has a chance of becoming the strongest force. Experts recommend that democracy in the Free State be better protected through constitutional changes.
More parliament, less blockade: to protect the Democracy before authoritarian-populist efforts, experts from the constitution blog have suggested changes to Thuringian laws and the state constitution. “A democracy is resilient when it is prepared,” said Maximilian Steinbeis in the Thuringian state parliament.
The Constitution Blog’s “Thuringia Project” deals with the question of what would happen if “authoritarian-populist parties got hold of state power.” Steinbeis is the founder of the Constitution Blog.
Eliminate blockage in the election of judges
Steinbeis and his team made seven recommendations for action to make democracy in Thuringia more resilient against forces that threaten democracy. They proposed an anti-blockade mechanism in the election of judges for the Thuringian Constitutional Court. The background is that, according to surveys, the AfD has a chance of getting more than a third of the seats in the Thuringian state parliament – it could then block votes that require a two-thirds majority. In Thuringia, this also includes the election of judges for the Constitutional Court.
The Constitution Blog team suggested that if no judge is elected for a long period of time, the right of nomination could be returned to the court and the majority requirement lowered from a two-thirds majority to an absolute majority.
The AfD is classified as definitely extremist in Thuringia. Steinbeis said that the AfD represents a great threat to democracy. It was one of the reasons for starting the project, but not the subject of the work.
Termination of state media contracts by parliament
In addition, the constitutional blog experts advocated that a Thuringian Prime Minister should no longer be able to terminate state media contracts for the state alone, but that parliament should be involved. Likewise, the State Center for Civic Education should not be docked with the State Chancellery, but should be placed on a legal basis as an institution under public law.
“Emergency stop” in the event of a failed prime ministerial election
In the event of a failed prime ministerial election, experts believe there should be a so-called emergency stop mechanism – Parliament should then vote on its own dissolution – an absolute majority should then be enough, according to experts. So far, a two-thirds majority is required for dissolution. If the resolution fails, there should be a fourth round of voting – in which a candidate who runs alone would also be elected if he receives more no votes than yes votes.
A new state parliament will be elected in Thuringia on September 1st. In surveys, the AfD is in first place – with values currently between 29 and 31 percent. Formation of a government could be very difficult again.
The experts also recommended that the election of the state parliament president be regulated more precisely. The president of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the police chief should not be political officials, they recommended. This is intended to prevent the government from having too much influence on these important positions. According to the experts, consultative referendums should be excluded – they could be used as a government tool, it was said.