The AfD has been ahead in polls for the state elections in Thuringia for months. Ramelow warns of fatal consequences.
Erfurt – On 1 September, Thuringia will face a decisive state election. In opinion polls, the AfD with about 30 percent. Thuringia’s Prime Minister and top candidate of the party The leftBodo Ramelow, warns of a strong performance by the AfD with fatal consequences. The AfD wants to have “the one-third blocking minority in the state parliament in order to chase all democratic parties before it,” Ramelow told the Handelsblatt.
Such a blocking minority would give the AfD the power to block resolutions and significantly slow down decision-making processes. This would be tantamount to a veto that could have a lasting impact on the political decisions of the Thuringian state parliament, especially in new elections or the appointment of judges – and that with only a third of the mandates.
State election in Thuringia: BSW rules out coalition with AfD
Ramelow is “very concerned” that Thuringia’s AfD leader Björn Höcke managed to “turn this West German professors’ party in Thuringia into a genuine fascist party”. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution has already taken precautions in case the AfD is involved in a state government after the election.
For months, the AfD has been leading in polls with about 30 percent. The CDU and the Sahra Wagenknecht alliance follow behind (BSW). The Left Party is currently in fourth place, while the SPD remains in single digits in the polls. The Greens and FDP have to fear for their return to the state parliament.
The Left, SPD and Greens, who currently govern as a minority coalition without a parliamentary majority, are therefore dependent on votes from the opposition. CDU top candidate Mario Voigt does not reject cooperation with the BSW for more government responsibility.
The top candidate of the BSW in Thuringia, Katja Wolf, does not rule out a coalition either. BR she asserted that “every solution is a good solution.” However, she clearly ruled out the AfD. Democratic parties must be “willing to talk to each other and they must be able to compromise with each other.” The election result will show “with which democratic party it would be possible to form a government.” (AFP/lw)
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