Thuringia was the scene of historic small-state rule, the first rallying point of the Nazis and is today the test case for democracy. Journalist Martin Debes explains why what could happen to the rest of the country is happening earlier here.
It can’t be wrong to regularly ask what’s going on in Thuringia. In the only federal state with a left-wing prime minister, a red-red-green minority government and a parliament in which the left-wing party and right-wing extremists hold the majority of seats. A federal state in which the faction of the country’s most radical AfD politician, together with the CDU, briefly helped an FDP man become prime minister four years ago, triggering an earthquake whose effects can still be felt today.