The weirdness of the small state of Thuringia, it was primarily revealed in the past in the Erfurt Landtag, but also before that: For example, when the CDU Landeschef Christian Hirte, together with the Secretary General and members of the Junge Union, took up positions in parliament last week. “I’m in the CDU and I want new elections now!” could be read on the self-made posters of the mini flash mob, and surveys show that two thirds of Thuringians want that too.
Before that, however, the state parliament has to dissolve and actually only members of one parliamentary group took a stand against this project: the Christian Democrats. So one could ask oneself whether the party leadership in Erfurt is, as it were, protesting against its own people, but Thuringia would not be Thuringia if things were not both strange and terribly complicated.
Actually, a new state parliament is to be elected on September 26th, parallel to the general election. This became necessary because of the election of the FDP man Thomas Kemmerich with the kind support of the CDU and AfD. In the long nights after February 5, 2020, the minority coalition of the Left, SPD and Greens negotiated the so-called “Stability Pact” with the opposition Christian Democrats, a temporary collaboration that stipulates, among other things, early elections.
The way to get there ideally leads through the dissolution of parliament. This requires the approval of 60 of the 90 MPs. Left, SPD, Greens and CDU together have 63 votes. However, four MPs from the ranks of the Christian Democrats have announced that they will vote against dissolution. As a result, a voice is missing.
The application should come this week. Actually.
There is currently no weighty reason to re-examine the will of the voters, the apostate justified their decision in a letter. Members of the CDU are neither “order recipients nor spare wheel” from red-red-green. In fact, the fear of premature loss of mandate is likely to play a role. The fact that four CDU MPs position themselves against new elections is also an affront to parliamentary group leader Mario Voigt. On Wednesday he renewed the assurance that his parliamentary group wanted a majority of new elections. “We have to end the tussle, there is no need for back room games.” From the point of view of the CDU, the application to dissolve the state parliament could be submitted this week.
Because unlike in the final vote on July 19, only a third of the votes are required for the motion. The CDU wants to contribute ten of them, but so far Red-Red-Green has insisted on documenting in advance all 18 votes that would be required by the Christian Democrats to dissolve the state parliament in order to avoid nasty surprises. Knowing full well that the CDU can only deliver 17. The situation seemed hopelessly twisted, once again, only slowly is the matter moving. The SPD is now ready to accept the minimum quorum of 30 votes in order to even submit the application. “Anyone who wants to travel by train has to stand on the platform with a ticket at some point,” says parliamentary group leader Matthias Hey.
Unexpected support also comes from the ranks of the FDP parliamentary group. MEP Ute Bergner announced at the end of May that she would contribute the missing vote. The Bergner case, on the other hand, is another Thuringian peculiarity, because the MP has actually turned her back on the FDP and is the chairman of the “Citizens for Thuringia” association, which is close to the maverick milieu. Nevertheless, she remained part of the five-member FDP parliamentary group. With four more votes, the Liberals could finally provide clarity. It would be a stair joke in history. Thomas Kemmerich was recently re-elected as the state chairman of his party, the polls are good. He could present himself as a savior in an emergency, but he keeps a low profile, tacts. “We’re not hiding, but we’re not currently part of the process,” he says. One will comment at the earliest after the application has been submitted.
A critic of the corona rules tipping the scales?
Left, Social Democrats and Greens are not comfortable with the thought that a critic of the Corona measures could tip the scales. In addition, the risk of becoming the AfD’s plaything again is too great in the end. Nevertheless, the “lean variant”, ie an application with only 30 signatures, will not be refused, says the Greens parliamentary group leader Astrid Rothe-Beinlich. However, your party wants to see the 17 signatures of the CDU and those of MP Ute Bergner “on an informal piece of paper” before July 19. “We will not be jointly responsible for a second dam breach.”
The left see it very similarly. “There is a high level of dissatisfaction with the CDU because it cannot guarantee that something like the one on February 5th will not be repeated,” says parliamentary group leader Steffen Dittes. Should the Christian Democrats refuse to provide further guarantees, the left wants to reserve the right to withdraw the motion to dissolve parliament if necessary. “What we no longer want to see in the Thuringian state parliament is a hesitation, a procrastination, a game with the majority situation.”
The four parties want to consult again on Thursday. For now, there are signs of a new election in strange Thuringia.