State election: A history teacher defeated Höcke in East Thuringia

He is a history teacher, “Vogtlander through and through,” as he says – and now something of a hero in his CDU: education politician Christian Tischner has defended his direct mandate in his home in East Thuringia against AfD regional leader Björn Höcke. Höcke, also a history teacher, had specifically changed constituencies because he thought he had better chances in Tischner’s region than in the CDU stronghold of Eichsfeld, where Höcke has lived with his family for many years. “He wanted to use the region. I think a lot of people said they didn’t want that,” Tischner told the German Press Agency in Erfurt after his victory. He received 43 percent of the votes, Höcke only 38.9 percent.

Confidant of Voigt

The history teacher Tischner is a well-known education politician in Thuringia, is considered a confidant of CDU state leader Mario Voigt and is part of his “team of experts”. This means that he is considered a possible education minister should the department fall to the CDU.

After the state election, Voigt is probably the most likely to become the new Prime Minister. Before that, however, he must forge a coalition and possibly bring the new party Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht on board. In addition, his party’s incompatibility resolution with the AfD and the Left Party is hindering his search for partners. Without the cooperation of one of the two parties, however, no majorities can be formed in parliament in Thuringia.

No escalation Tischner against Höcke

Within the CDU, Tischner takes a clear line in dealing with the AfD – for him, cooperation with Höcke’s party is impossible. “How indecent and disrespectful their politics are, how they discredit everything, how they discredit the churches, how they discredit the economy. It is absolutely impossible, in terms of style, to do anything with these people,” said Tischner.

The 43-year-old was born and raised in East Thuringia, studied to become a high school teacher and, after a professional trip to Bremen, became a history and social studies teacher in Thuringia. When he found out that Höcke had chosen his constituency for a direct candidacy, it became clear to him that the election campaign would no longer be about content, but only about people. Tischner says he nevertheless refrained from escalating the issue along the lines of “Tischner or Höcke”. Tischner is convinced that this would only have driven people further into the arms of the AfD. “People have worries and fears and we have to solve them,” he said. During the election campaign, he campaigned with the slogan “The one from here!” Höcke was born in North Rhine-Westphalia, grew up in Rhineland-Palatinate and later moved from Hesse to the northwestern part of Thuringia.

Höcke failed for the third time

For a long time, the AfD had kept it a secret where Höcke would run as a direct candidate; he had repeatedly failed in his home constituency in previous elections. Because of the foreseeable large support for the AfD, this failure could be dangerous for Höcke: If the AfD had won so many direct mandates that the party’s state list had not been able to win, then Höcke would not have entered the state parliament: he would have lost his power in one fell swoop. Ultimately, the AfD won 29 direct mandates, and is entitled to 32 seats in the state parliament. Höcke is number one on the list and can therefore safely enter the state parliament.

According to media reports, two AfD direct candidates in the Wartburg district were not allowed to stand in the election. The two wanted to go to court to get the state executive committee headed by Björn Höcke to support their candidacy with the necessary signature. However, they failed in court. According to media reports, the Thuringian AfD had cited formal errors in the nomination of the two candidates and therefore did not want to support them.