AfD against everyone: The historic battle for the Thuringian state parliament

In the decade since 2014, Thuringia has become a land of political firsts. Many things have happened here for the first time: the first left-wing state parliament president, the first left-wing state premier, the first head of government elected by the AfD (and even without a government) and, most recently, the first minority government without toleration.

And now? Thuringia now has the first parliament in which the AfD is the largest party. This means that it has the right to propose the new President of the State Parliament.

It is a right that has always applied in the Federal Republic, whether as a formally prescribed rule or as an unwritten law. Or both. This is the only reason why the Thuringian CDU uncomplainingly elected a former SED functionary as President of the State Parliament five years ago.

But when the newly elected state parliament meets in Erfurt this Thursday, the CDU, BSW, Left and SPD factions do not want to vote for the candidate nominated by the AfD. Instead, they plan to elect a CDU representative to the highest office in the state.

This means that what is otherwise just a formality, namely the constitution of a parliament, has become an unprecedented battle, in which the state constitutional court may also be drawn. Once again, a historic event is emerging. And this is how it could play out.

The starting point

The AfD is the largest party in the new state parliament, with 32 of 88 representatives. However, the associated right to propose candidates does not automatically give the candidate a right to the office. Firstly, there is the state constitution, which simply states that the state parliament elects the president “from among its members” and that each representative is solely responsible to his or her own conscience. Secondly, the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court is clear: there is no right to a parliamentary post.

In addition, the AfD is far from the necessary majority of 45 votes. The CDU (23 MPs), the BSW (15), the Left (12) and the SPD (6) together have 56 votes.

But: The election of the state parliament is being led by the oldest member of parliament, the new MP Jürgen Treutler. And he is a member of the AfD parliamentary group, which could significantly influence the course of events.

The Rules of Procedure

The AfD’s right to propose candidates is enshrined in the State Parliament’s rules of procedure, which state: “The strongest parliamentary group proposes a member of the State Parliament for election as President.” And: “The person who receives the majority of valid votes cast is elected. If no such majority is achieved, new candidates can be proposed for further rounds of voting.”

As a precautionary measure, the Council of Elders of the old state parliament agreed in the spring – with the exception of the AfD – on this interpretation: If the candidate nominated by the strongest faction does not find a majority in two rounds of voting, candidates from other factions are permitted. An initiative by the red-red-green minority coalition to change the rules of procedure accordingly failed because of the CDU.

But now that the AfD is the strongest faction, the Union has changed course. Together with the BSW, it put a motion on the agenda to change the rules of procedure: all factions should be able to put forward candidates in the first round of voting. The Left and the SPD also support this. The AfD, however, considers the change to be illegal because the state parliament has not yet been constituted at this point.

The candidates

The AfD has nominated MP Wiebke Muhsal. The 38-year-old lawyer and mother of four children was already a member of the state parliament for five years after 2014. The close confidante of Björn Höcke caused a scandal when she appeared during an ongoing state parliament session wearing a niqab to, as she said, reiterate her demand for a ban on veiling.

In 2019, Muhsal did not run for parliament again after she was convicted of fraud. She was accused of misappropriating state parliament funds. But only a short time later, Muhsal was considered rehabilitated in the party. She was elected to third place on the state list and ran in the constituency near Jena against the CDU’s top candidate Mario Voigt – which she won.

The CDU has proposed CDU MP Thadäus König as a rival candidate. He is also supported by BSW, the Left Party and the CDU. The 42-year-old has been a member of the state parliament since 2019 and most recently defended his direct mandate in the Eichsfeld district with the best result nationwide of 54.3 percent.

The legal battle

The state parliament will meet on Thursday at 12 noon. The rules of procedure regulate the procedure as follows: After the oldest member has appointed two provisional secretaries, the secretaries will call the members by name. Once a quorum has been established, the next item would be the election of the state parliament president.

However, following the motion by the CDU and BSW, the agenda was revised. Now the “amendment of the Rules of Procedure of the Thuringian State Parliament” is on the agenda – before the election of the parliamentary speaker.

The crucial question is: What will AfD’s senior president Treutler do? According to everything we hear from his party, he will not allow the item on the agenda due to legal concerns. One or more factions could then appeal to the Thuringian Constitutional Court in Weimar – which would probably automatically postpone the session until Friday.

The emergency decision of the constitutional judges will then determine what happens next in the state parliament. Option A: Change the rules of procedure and then an open election of the state parliament presidium. Option B: The state parliament may not change the rules of procedure without being constituted, but the court declares that other candidates are to be allowed from the third round of voting. Or option C: The AfD continues to have the sole right to propose candidates at the discretion of the oldest member of parliament.

Everything is possible

With variants A and B, CDU MP König would be elected president relatively quickly on Friday. With variant C, the Höcke faction could start maneuvering and, for example, nominate a candidate from another party that they like. The CDU MP Martina Schweinsburg is mentioned here, and she has already spoken out in favor of talks with the AfD.

So what will happen? Will the Constitutional Court provide sufficient clarity? Will there be an agreement with the AfD to avert a possible constitutional crisis? Or will there even be another surprise in the secret ballot like in February 2020, when the AfD put forward a dummy candidate and then elected FDP state leader Thomas Kemmerich as prime minister?

In Thuringia, anything is possible. But the man who was in the midst of chaos at the time, only to become head of government again, is calm. “As the Left Party, we will use our twelve votes to make a contribution to having 56 votes so that the state parliament is correctly constituted,” Bodo Ramelow told the star.

However, it could take longer, perhaps even until Saturday: “I have just rearranged all my appointments so that I can be present as a member of parliament on up to three days.”