In the debate after the Thuringian tax decision, the tone is becoming rougher. The State Chancellery and the opposition CDU are hurling accusations at each other.
The tax cut passed in the Thuringian state parliament by the opposition CDU with the help of the AfD continues to cause a stir. The state chancellery of Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) accuses the CDU of having made targeted agreements with the AfD to implement tax cuts. The CDU assured again on Saturday that there had been no agreements or cooperation with the AfD. Meanwhile, a new survey shows that Thuringia could be heading towards an extremely difficult government formation process after next year’s state elections.
The CDU was able to push through a reduction in the real estate transfer tax on real estate purchases in the state parliament on Thursday because the right-wing extremist AfD, the FDP and non-attached MPs agreed. The red-red-green government does not have its own majority.
Head of the State Chancellery Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff (Left) replied in the Berlin “Tagesspiegel” (Saturday) to the question of whether he had any evidence of concrete agreements between the two parties. “The CDU, FDP and AfD coordinated specifically on Thursday,” he said. “At the same time, our own items were taken off the agenda so that the real estate transfer tax could then be dealt with. All three jointly made the recommendation for a resolution in the budget committee. The AfD made it publicly clear in advance that it would support the project.” He added: “There have been agreements that have been evident for some time.”
What does the CDU say?
The Thuringian CDU general secretary Christian Herrgott then accused Hoff on Saturday of spreading lies. Prime Minister Ramelow’s government is pursuing “a targeted strategy of defamation,” Herrgott countered. “The CDU Thuringia makes its own policy and makes sensible suggestions for the people. It does not ask permission from a minority government.” Red-red-green have achieved majorities in the state parliament several times with votes from the AfD.
The CDU parliamentary secretary Andreas Bühl told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (Saturday) that on Thursday – as on every plenary day if appropriate – he had simply informed his counterparts from the other parliamentary groups that the CDU was withdrawing another item on the agenda.
The tax cut decision by the Thuringian CDU with AfD votes is also not without controversy in the Union. Criticism of the Thuringian party friends came from Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister. On Friday evening, Daniel Günther confirmed on ZDF: “I think this is a serious wrong decision that was made.”
The CDU member of the Bundestag Kai Whittaker wrote on the platform The CDU vice-chairman Jens Spahn, however, urged an end to the discussion. “The biggest favor you can do for the AfD in particular is to continue this debate like this for three more weeks, then it will have another two percent more,” he told the “Frankfurter Rundschau” (Saturday).
What do the SPD, Greens and Left say?
In the camp of the SPD, the Greens and the Left, the outrage over the CDU’s actions continues. In the “Stuttgarter Zeitung”/”Stuttgarter Nachrichten” (Saturday), SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken referred to the CDU leader’s statement that the “firewall” stood by the AfD: “How much is Friedrich Merz’s word in the CDU still worth it, and where is the outcry within the Union?” she asked.
The Green politician and European Committee chairman Anton Hofreiter suspects that the Thuringian CDU parliamentary group’s move is a conscious and centrally controlled strategy: “Merz is preparing the way for this action from Berlin,” he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Saturday).
A representative survey conducted before the tax decision by the Erfurt opinion research institute Insa on behalf of Funke Medien Thüringen shows the dilemma faced by the Thuringian parties when forming a new government after the state elections next year. Accordingly, no government can be formed without or against the CDU. The party would therefore be faced with the decision of achieving a majority with either the Left or the AfD.
AfD strong in surveys
When it comes to the Sunday question, the AfD is currently the strongest force with 32 percent. The Left follows at a considerable distance with 22 percent and the CDU, which has improved by one point to 21 percent compared to the July survey. The SPD remains at 10 percent and the Greens increase by one point to six percent. With four percent, the FDP would miss out on returning to the state parliament. Five percent choose other parties.
Red-red-green together would only have 38 percent. According to pollsters, 43 percent would also not be enough for an alliance between the Left and the CDU. Even a coalition of CDU, SPD and Greens like in Saxony would only be 37 percent in Thuringia.
For the survey, 1,000 adult Thuringians were interviewed online from September 7th to 13th. A statistical error of 1.5 to 3 percentage points (error tolerance) must be taken into account, whereby the level of the statistical error is based on the level of a party’s percentage points.
Source: Stern
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