On one evening in this election campaign, Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow sits in the Thuringian town of Bad Frankenhausen on a sofa in a sports hall and wonders about the election recommendation of his party friend. Because the young comrade from Berlin, who moderates this appointment, decides the evening with the call to the 60 present, in the state election on 27 October in Thuringia but please choose the left, "if you want a different policy."
Ramelow looks surprised, stops his comrade: "You can not say here, if you want a different policy, then choose Mr. Ramelow."
Laughter in the gym.
Ramelow then says it again correctly: "If you want the way to go this way, then consider whether you trust me."
Since 2014, a Left Prime Minister ruled in Thuringia. Even after five years, not everyone has been able to get used to it, not even their own comrades.
Red-Red-Green was a novelty particularly for the left, which has developed in the past 30 years from the outsider position as SED successor party to the leftist ruling party. The project has been called "R2G" party-internal for years, in Thuringia it became possible - with a left-wing prime minister.
When Ramelow's election loomed, more than a thousand people protested in front of the Thuringian state parliament and shouted, "Shame, shame." CDU leader Mike Mohring was forced to conduct secret talks with Björn Höcke, AfD, to prevent a left-leaning prime minister. The green top candidate, Anja Siegesmund, reports how she was initially attacked, having just closed this coalition.
And today? Hardly anyone wants to know anything about it. Ramelow developed no communist reign of terror, but to the Darling of Thuringia. He is today one of the most popular prime ministers in Germany. In Berlin and Bremen formed in the following years also red-red-green coalitions, but each under the leadership of the SPD.
In the Federal Council, the Left Ramelow works together with all country leaders, Union representatives appreciate his style (Read a SPIEGEL interview with Ramelow and Schleswig-Holstein's CDU Prime Minister Daniel Günther). Union leaders like the former Saxon Prime Minister Kurt Biedenkopf describe him as "reasonable".
A left-wing red-red-green government appears today as a passable option. But on election Sunday she must fear for her majority in Thuringia. A sequel is not secured.
But regardless of this, what did this government mean for a nationwide significance? And what consequences did it have for the parties involved?
The left
For the left in the Bund Ramelows re-election is almost vital for survival. The party is in a existential crisis. The AfD has denied her the rank of protest party, but at the same time it is hard for the comrades to be taken seriously as potential coalition partners.
Unclear profile issues and years of personnel disputes have ensured that the left in the public usually make a disastrous picture.
Ramelow is something like the counterexample. His government proves that leftists can lead and shape, that they are capable of pragmatic politics, without chaos.
This is also a permanent provocation for all particularly radical leftists, who do not have compromises. But it is clear: The comrades need the option red-red-green, in order to maintain their narrative of the possibility of a change of policy. In contrast to the mobile Greens, for the left a government participation is conceivable only in a center-left alliance.
The SPD
Among the Social Democrats, the attitude to red-red-green coalitions since the Thuringia election 2014 has changed significantly. At the state level, they are now using this option offensively, in the spring, the party moved so in Bremen even in the election campaign. With success: Although the SPD fell behind the CDU, it was enough in the Hanseatic city for the third coalition with Greens and Left Party.
Michael Bahlo / DPA
SPD, Green and Left sign coalition agreement in Bremen (13 August 2019)
The Social Democrats have also changed their course at the federal level. Until just a few years ago, it was only the party people who spoke openly about possible coalitions with the Left Party. Even in the election campaign, the party rights wanted to know of a possible leftist alliance. But in the two years since then, the handling has relaxed significantly. Even the acting party leader Malu Dreyer speaks openly of the power option red-red-green.
This is partly because, in perspective, this could be the only chance for the SPD to once again face the chancellor. But also the experiences in Thuringia and Berlin play a role. Even though the SPD in Erfurt is only a junior partner, leading comrades are satisfied with the cooperation of the past five years and the appearance of the coalition.
The green
The Greens have been able to prevail in crucial places in recent years, said the Minister of the Environment: Since a climate protection law has been adopted, which would probably not have been possible with the CDU. The party prevailed that the "Green Belt", ie the former inner-German border, is expelled as a natural monument. The nature protection law was reissued, also the water law.
In the Justice and Migration Department under Minister Dieter Lauinger things did not go so well. In the middle of the legislature, Lauinger instigated a committee of inquiry for the Greens because he used his political contacts to help his son. In the final report, the red-red-green state government admits that Lauinger has made mistakes - the CDU continues to insist that the case constitutes malpractice.
Voice # 117 - Thuringia Election: Who can govern at all? And what is the AfD doing?
- Subscribe to
- Apple podcasts
- Google podcasts
- Spotify
- Deezer
- Alexa
- RSS
All podcasts
For the Greens, Thuringia is a difficult territory despite its environmental achievements. Unlike in Saxony, there is no big city in which the Greens can score. The Thuringians are older on average, but the Greens are mainly worn by younger voters. This is another reason why the Bundesspitze does not expect an intoxicating result and tries to dampen the expectations of the election in advance.
However, a result below ten percent could be a problem for the Greens in the federal government. Already in Saxony they had reached only 8.6 percent of the vote, in Brandenburg it was 10.8 percent. This does not fit in with the strategic plan to become a small People's Party, which achieves more than 20 percent in federal elections.
Does the Alliance have a future?
Thuringia has always been a role model and example of new center-left alliances. But at the moment there is no majority in the federal government. Although 2019 should actually be the year in which the mood turns: a red-red-green year.
At first it looked good too, at least from the left. In Bremen, they concluded a coalition with the previously ruling Social Democrats and Greens. But even in Brandenburg, all the champions for a left-wing camp were torn from their red-red-green dreams. SPD Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke is now negotiating a Kenya coalition there. Although there would have been a narrow majority, the SPD waved off.
For the future of red-red-green, a lot depends on Ramelow. In the polls his left are in front. But the key question is whether it is enough for his coalition.
Video about AfD-Spitzenkandidate Höcke: fear for Germany
MIRROR ONLINE
