State parliament leadership: Thuringian political crime continues – will the election succeed?

The first attempt was a debacle; now a new state parliament president is to be elected in Thuringia. The basis is a word of power from the Constitutional Court of the Free State: In an interim order, it set clear limits on the actions of the AfD’s senior president Jürgen Treutler, who has been heavily criticized. The state parliament is now allowed to change its rules of procedure before the election of the state parliament leadership and thus also allow personnel suggestions from all parliamentary groups from the outset. The CDU faction went to the Constitutional Court – and was successful in key points.

Is there a risk of escalation again?

This cannot be ruled out, because even if the Thuringian Constitutional Court has now laid down rules for the conduct of the meeting, the election act is still pending. At least the AfD has signaled that it has always adhered to the decisions of the Constitutional Court. The parliamentary managing director of the AfD parliamentary group, Torben Braga, said of the court’s decision: “Clarity about how to proceed was necessary. It is good that the state parliament can now complete the constitution.”

However, Thuringia’s AfD leader Björn Höcke had previously sown doubts about the impartiality of the court and had already accused the constitutional judges of being biased. There is an independent judiciary in Germany. It is unclear how Treutler behaves. If necessary, the MPs can also recall him, then it would be the turn of the second oldest parliamentarian – also an AfD man. If there is a state presidential election, a duel between an AfD candidate and a CDU candidate is expected.

What did the court decide?

In their decision, the constitutional judges gave a kind of direction for the course of the meeting: Treutler must therefore appoint the provisional secretaries, determine whether the state parliament has a quorum and put the agenda presented by the previous state parliament president to a vote in mid-September. The meeting should then continue in the order of the agreed agenda. The AfD and Treutler had previously represented a different legal opinion. The constitutional judges also commented on the right to make proposals in the state parliament presidential election: “The intended regulation, which stipulates that all factions – and not just the strongest faction – are allowed to submit nominations for the election of the state parliament president in the first round of voting does not violate constitutional law.”

Who are the factions sending into the race?

The AfD wants to make its MP Wiebke Muhsal the new state parliament president, but the 38-year-old is considered to have no chance. Muhsal was fined for fraud years ago. Courts found it proven that she had advanced an employment contract with an employee by two months in 2014 in order to receive additional money from the state parliament administration. Her candidacy was perceived as a provocation by the other factions in advance.

In contrast, there was already a lot of trust for the CDU candidate Thadäus König. The BSW, the Left and the SPD confirmed that the political scientist with a doctorate was eligible for election. König comes from the predominantly Catholic town of Eichsfeld and defeated AfD right-winger Höcke in the 2019 state election in the fight for the direct mandate. In the state election four weeks ago, the 42-year-old achieved the best first vote result nationwide. König is considered a compromise candidate.

Where else could there be explosive material in the meeting?

The election of the four vice presidents of the state parliament could also be tricky. The CDU parliamentary group had already signaled that it also wanted to give the AfD a place in the state parliament’s presidency, provided its candidate was eligible. If the AfD sends Muhsal into the running for a deputy post again, it could fail in the election.