Shortly before the winner enters the election party in an old hall on the Erfurt freight yard, the moderator in the costume of a ringmaster asked the visitors to form a trellis.
Then comes Bodo Ramelow. The only Left Prime Minister, who has now given his party a historic election result with 31 percent, comes with his Italian wife on the hand in the direction of the stage. The flashes of the photographer throw light on the happy faces.
Country Party leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow announces Ramelow as "our best man". The crowd is raging. "Win, are not you?" Asks Hennig-Wellsow. Ramelow grins. "We continue to rock it," believes the party leader.
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The election evening in Thuringia: a bit of cheers and a lot of helplessnessWell, that's not very clear so far. Ramelow says it is "undisputed" that he has a government mandate. And finally, the left in Germany needs it "if we want to talk more about social justice". Only: How to create a stable government in Thuringia after this election result, where the CDU has rejected any cooperation but categorically, which also remains the celebrating base in the old freight yard in vain.
An idea of what might follow may perhaps be left mastermind Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff. Hoff, Minister of Culture, Federal and European Affairs in Ramelov's government, thought this situation up for the Left weeks ago.
He vehemently advocates holding together the partners of the past - ie left, SPD and Greens. On Wednesday, the leaders of the old coalition want to meet and discuss together how a government can be formed. "We will explore and of course have discussions with CDU and FDP," says Hoff.
"Stability feeling of the Germans"
A minority government based on the Danish or Canadian model does not see the left as a specter. Even if this undermines the "feeling of stability of the Germans". To elect a Prime Minister, a simple majority in the third ballot. The dare the partners of yore to.
And then? The budget for the first year of government has already been decided, so it does not have to go to parliament. Two more would have to be brought by changing majorities to rule for five years. It would have to be negotiated, compromises would be necessary. Hoff believes that this would be possible with CDU and FDP. At any rate, neither party has any interest in new elections.
Purely human would be an indirect alliance with the CDU, so a toleration, not a hurdle in Thuringia. CDU boss Mike Mohring can with Linke boss Susanne Hennig-Wellsow personally magnificent. And when Bodo Ramelow celebrated his 60th birthday in 2016, Mohring gave him a hike with himself.
State election Thuringia 2019
Preliminary final result
Second vote result
Shares in percent
CDU
21.8
-11.7
The left
31
+2.8
SPD
8.2
-4.2
AFD
23.4
+12.8
green
5.2
-0.5
FDP
5
+2.5
other
5.4
-1.7
allocation of seats
Total: 90
Majority: 46 seats
29
8th
5
5
21
22
The Left (29)
SPD (8)
Green (5)
FDP (5)
CDU (21)
AfD (22)
Source: Provincial Returning Officer
Results in detail
The focus is therefore now on Mohring and the question of how he can hold his CDU together. Mohring makes a tired impression at the election party. He had fought this year, against cancer, against a threat of murder - and in the electoral contest against the disappearance. The duel focused on left and AfD.
The starting line was not even bad: While in the elections in Saxony and Brandenburg no promising opponent to the incumbent Prime Minister was in sight, there was the one in Thuringia: Mohring.
With a Zimbabwe coalition of CDU, SPD, Greens and FDP, he wanted to make red-red-green the majority disputed, but this is not to think on this Sunday evening. Mohring failed to portray Ramelow and his left as a specter. His attempt did not stand up to the reality of the past five years.
Martin rubble / DPA
Mike Mohring (l.) And Bodo Ramelow: "Winning, right?"
He also failed in this election campaign to present Ramelow at eye level as a counter-candidate. Ramelow's hiking invitation became a problem for Mohring, he could not build a conflict. After all, he could compete in a TV duel against Ramelow alone, but also there bounced off his attacks on Ramelow.
When Mohring moved into the state parliament for the first time in 1999, the CDU won the absolute majority. Today she scored the worst result that the CDU ever won in Thuringia.
In Erfurt, the members explain this mainly by the polarization between AfD and Ramelow. A look to Dresden is enough for the CDU members to justify the result. There it was on election night two months ago the CDU, which celebrated - and the left, which cut off disastrously.
More about the state election in Thuringia
Now the CDU is at a loss as to how to handle the result. Also Mohring does not want to make a clear statement on Sunday evening - only that he wants to lead with all discussions and above all the headwind from Berlin harmed.
Will his party go to the left? Christian Shepherd, Land Vice and Commissioner of the Federal Government for the new federal states, is of the opinion that the CDU should, if it comes to an election of the Prime Minister in the state parliament, prefer to set up a candidate. "We owe it to our voters," says Hirte.
Whether in a secret vote the AfD or parts of the SPD vote for Mohring, he does not consider excluded. "Red-Red-Green has lost the majority, there will be a minority government anyway." He excludes all cooperation with the Left and the AfD, as many others see here this evening. At the same time it reminds of a "secret election".
Mohring leaves most of these questions open on election night. He answers only one. Whether he thinks of resignation in view of the electoral defeat? "No," he says. And adds, "Not tomorrow either."
