Thuringian FDP leader on “eco-radical” Greens and “mistakes in dealing with the AfD”

The Thuringian FDP leader Thomas Kemmerich knows about the danger of an AfD victory. This is precisely why he rules out collaboration with leftists and “eco-radical” Greens.

Thomas Kemmerich and his FDP have to worry about entering the state parliament in the state elections in the fall. But the politician from Thuringia is combative. He sees the AfD's rise to fame as being due to weak traffic lights, but also to the incorrect handling of the media. The short-term Prime Minister still doesn't speak well of Angela Merkel.

Mr. Kemmerich, the state elections are just around the corner and the AfD is in first place in polls. For the FDP, entry into the state parliament is in danger. So bleak prospects?

I'm not ready to say yet how the election will turn out for us. The AfD has high ratings in surveys, but when asked about the second vote, many voters choose the FDP. We as the FDP will probably have to write off a third of the people who now want to vote for the AfD. It will be difficult for another third, but I think the other third is recoverable.

And how do you want to accomplish that?

Through content. People struggle with politics for many reasons. The shutdown of the nuclear power plants is just as catastrophic as the education policy in Thuringia. Bureaucratic burdens must be reduced; we want to prevent the state apparatus from continuing to grow. We can win people back with topics like these.

People don't seem particularly happy with politics right now.

The traffic light is currently the factor that causes the greatest dissatisfaction among people. The CDU is also feeling this bad mood. As centrist parties, we shouldn't always blame each other. If we want to gain territory in this way, we are unintentionally doing the wrong people's work.

You talk about the AfD's soaring heights. For years, Thuringia has mostly been reported in the context of Höcke and co. Is there a problem with that?

Reports about the AfD are often too one-sided. It is not enough to focus on the AfD's eternal stigma as a right-wing extremist. Far too little attention is paid to their specific political positions and what they mean for voters. What makes the AfD so successful is, above all, the bad policies of the others. When I talk to people and ask them whether they expect the AfD to improve, the answer is always 'no'.

So what does the media need to do differently?

We make too many mistakes in dealing with the AfD, and by that I also mean us as politicians. As a society, we have to approach the issues addressed by the AfD differently. We have to identify what motivates voters. Here in Thuringia there are not 30 percent right-wing radicals running around. There is a hard core of perhaps eight to ten percent – but in the rest there are many people who will say before the election that they are voting cleverly, for Thuringia.

Nevertheless, it will not be easy to form a coalition apart from the AfD.

We are currently feeling a great mood of change among people. And at the same time, people want a centrist government without Mr. Höcke. We as the FDP want a German coalition with the CDU and the SPD. We do not want any cooperation with the left, the right and the eco-radical Thuringian Greens.

Without Mr. Ramelow and the left, a government perspective will be difficult. Why are you ruling out collaboration?

We as the FDP have to show that we are different from other parties, I think that is very important. The Left is still the successor party to the SED, and that is still very present among the people in Thuringia. Any support for the Left Party also promotes the strengthening of the political extremes on the other side. When we as the FDP take a clear stance and say that we do not work with the left and eco-radical Greens, it initially sounds strange to many. But we are clearly in favor of cooperation with the CDU and the SPD, including in another minority government.

What makes you confident about this ahead of the hot election campaign phase?

The people of Thuringia are happy that elections are finally taking place. We are experiencing a population that is incredibly sensitive to politics. This makes me confident that we can reach people with good policies.

Sensitized Thuringians. Is this an allusion to her brief stint as Prime Minister until the Chancellor spoke out on her trip abroad?

Many people here say that it is not a good approach to democracy when Ms. Merkel calls from South Africa to reverse a democratic election.