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Talks to Settle Thuringia Crisis Reportedly Fail Amid German Ruling Party Leadership Struggle

© AFP 2023 / MICHAEL REICHELChristine Lieberknecht, top candidate for the Christian Democrats CDU in Thuringia attends a TV show after the results of the exit polls are announced on TV at an election party in Erfurt, eastern Germany on September 14, 2014
Christine Lieberknecht, top candidate for the Christian Democrats CDU in Thuringia attends a TV show after the results of the exit polls are announced on TV at an election party in Erfurt, eastern Germany on September 14, 2014 - Sputnik International
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The crisis of national magnitude broke out in the eastern German state of Thuringia this February. FDP’s Thomas Kemmerich was elected prime minister of the regional government thanks to the support of the CDU and the right-wing AfD but resigned days later following criticism from Angela Merkel. His replacement has not been found yet.

Talks to resolve the governmental crisis in Thuringia, where the newly-elected regional prime minister resigned after criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel over support from the Alternative for Germany, has ended in deadlock, the news agency DPA and local outlet “Thüringer Allgemeine” suggests.

They report that the Christian Democratic Union’s Christine Lieberknecht, who served as the state prime minister from 2009 to 2014, has rejected an idea to head a skeleton administration with left-wing ministers during a transition period. Thuringia’s former premier Bodo Ramelow, representing the left-wing Die Linke, proposed this plan as he suggested that the state parliament, elected last year, should be dissolved for fresh elections.

The CDU has rejected the idea and called for a complete government under Lieberknecht and the adoption of the 2021 state budget before holding a snap vote. The CDU politician named these conditions, pointing at the disagreement among Die Linke, the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens, and the CDU over the timing of new elections.

From Thuringia Crisis to CDU Struggle

Although politicians in Thuringia, which held state elections in 2019, finally managed to agree to elect the head of the government following lengthy debates this February, the situation shortly thereafter deteriorated and resulted in a political crisis.

Flowers and a picture with the words still my MP! of former State Premier of Thuringia sit outside the state chancellery in Erfurt, Germany, 6 February 2020. - Sputnik International
Protesters Rally in Erfurt, Germany Against Joint FDP, CDU and AfD Vote in Thuringia - Video
Thomas Kemmerich of the Free Democrats (FDP) overcame incumbent Bodo Ramelow from Die Linke in a narrow 45 to 44 vote to become the state's premier, after gaining support from the right-wing AfD and the CDU. This prompted criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel, who branded the support from the right-wingers that helped elect him, "unforgivable”. She called the election "a bad day for democracy” and said that “the result must be reversed”. Following this offensive, Kemmerich resigned, opening the way for new elections.

Simultaneously, the scandal in Thuringia has resulted in turmoil within the CDU the chancellor had led up until 2018. Her successor Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, viewed as a possible future chancellor, announced that she will not run for the top job and leave the party leadership. The crisis has resulted in a popularity tumble for Angela Merkel’s party in the eastern German state, as a poll from last week showed.

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