Coalition chaos in Thuringia: will red-red-green remain without a majority?

No coalition possible? The state elections in Thuringia presented the parties with major problems. An alliance has nevertheless been found. But it will probably be a coalition in long-term adventure.

Munich / Erfurt - At the 2019 state election in Thuringia, the left celebrated its best election result so far. Now it comes down to the crunch: the Prime Minister is elected. In spite of everything, there will no longer be a red-red-green state parliament majority. The SPD and the Greens had received too few votes for this. Quite different from the AfD. But the CDU also suffered a bitter slump.

With this election result, the formation of a government in Thuringia has been difficult for months. The CDU excluded an alliance with the left in November. A coalition between the left and the AfD was unrealistic from the start.

State Parliament in Thuringia: # r2g2 - is a government majority still conceivable?

So what happens without a red-red-green government majority in Thuringia? The coalition was always summarized on Twitter with the hashtag # r2g. On the evening of the election, the hashtag # r2g2 became a short-lived hit. This is not a droid from “Star Wars”, but simply a possible red-red-green-yellow government. One of the two possible coalitions, both mathematically and at least theoretically in practice. In addition to the CDU-Linke Alliance, which was directed early into the realm of fable.

Haha, # R2G2 pic.twitter.com/6mSEFS7ymX

However, the FDP also put an end to this speculation in mid-November. His party would not speak to the left about a possible support, said FDP country chief Thomas Kemmerich at the time. Even before the election, all cooperation with the Left and the AfD had been ruled out. And now?

Election in Thuringia: Red-Red-Green wants to continue - even without a majority

There can of course be a coalition - just none with the ability to pass laws in the state parliament on its own. Ramelow has been working on a red, red and green minority government for months. "In the future, these three parties will have to approach the other parties in the opposition for every project," says Erfurt political scientist André Brodocz. AfD, Christian Democrats and Liberals have also signaled that they do not want to help Ramelow become prime minister.

The 63-year-old is still standing for re-election in Thuringia on Wednesday - however, he cannot count on a majority in the first two ballots. His targeted alliance of left, SPD and Greens only has 42 seats in the Thuringian parliament, four are absent from the absolute majority. That is not the only problem with his upcoming election in the parliament in Erfurt.

Prime Minister election in Thuringia. Ramelow hopes for a third ballot

Bodo Ramelow relies on the third ballot in his election. Then only the relative and no longer the absolute majority is necessary. If the candidate fails in the first two rounds of voting, “the election is made for whoever gets the most votes in another round of voting,” states the state constitution.

What that means in concrete terms for a single candidate - there are different legal opinions. The question is whether a single candidate would be chosen with more no than yes votes. Only the Constitutional Court could provide clarification - after the election. So far, the AfD, CDU and FDP have neither ruled out nor announced a lawsuit.

Ramelow faces a difficult task: new and old prime ministers would have to negotiate a lot

For Ramelow, however, the political adventure would not end there. For each project, its planned coalition needs votes from the ranks of the CDU or FDP. There are no commitments for regular cooperation, but there are possible majorities against red-red-green: AfD, CDU and FDP together have 48 of the 90 seats.

Innovator or tragic figure? You can find a portrait of Bodo Ramelow here. Merkur.de * has also summarized all the important information for you about the election of the Prime Minister in Thuringia.

mm / tz

* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.