After scandal in Thuringia: Ramelow is serious - new election date is set

Back and forth in Thuringia: After a tough struggle, the Left, SPD, Greens and CDU agree on a compromise. Now there is an appointment for the next prime ministerial election.

• In Thuringia , top politicians of the parties spent days discussing a way out of the government crisis.
• A managing prime minister currently rules in the federal state - without a minister and without a deputy.
• Leading politicians from the Left , SPD , Greens and CDU have now entered into a "historic compromise".

Update 7:37 p.m .: The Thuringian CDU wants to clarify the successor to the previous regional party leader Mike Mohring at a party conference on April 18 . This was decided at a meeting of the CDU state board in Erfurt, it said on Tuesday from groups of participants. Mohring wants to resign as chairman on Monday parallel to his post as Thuringian CDU parliamentary leader.

The previous deputy head of the Thuringian CDU, Mario Voigt, is traded as a possible successor to Mohring. Apart from Bühl, no MP has yet openly declared his candidacy. At first it also remained open how the top of the state party should be filled.

Update 6.30 p.m .: Tomorrow's political Ash Wednesday will also focus on Thuringia: Friedrich Merz, candidate for the CDU chairmanship will climb into the ring - but not in Lower Bavaria, but in the town of Apolda, east of Erfurt.

After scandal in Thuringia: Ramelow is serious - new election date is set

Update 2:57 p.m .: Bodo Ramelow , who left office just three weeks ago, wants to stand for election again in Erfurt on Wednesday next week as Prime Minister of Thuringia . The left, SPD and Greens factions submitted an application on Tuesday.

State President Birgit Keller confirmed the date after a meeting of the Council of Elders on Tuesday in Erfurt. The appointment and swearing-in of ministers was also scheduled for the day. The Left Group reaffirmed that it would propose its former Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow as a candidate. "Bodo Ramelow is our candidate," said the left faction leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow. She was optimistic that he would be elected in the first ballot.

With the new prime minister election, the parties hope for an end to the government crisis in Thuringia. Ramelow had failed on February 5 in two ballots, in the third ballot the FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich surprisingly prevailed with votes from the CDU and FDP as well as the AfD, as Merkur.de * reported.

However, it is still a matter of device where Ramelow should receive the necessary votes. The left-wing politician lacks four votes to an absolute majority. The federal CDU has received the indicated efforts of the Thuringian party friends to get Ramelow the necessary votes. How the actual voting behavior will look is unclear - the party headquarters apparently did not want to comment on corresponding requests on Tuesday:

"The @CDU of Germany does not comment on any hypotheses" (A spokeswoman for the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus when asked whether the party is expecting individual @ cdu_fraktion_th MPs to vote for @bodoramelow as MP on March 4th in @ThuerLandtag in the first ballot become)

Thuringia: Kemmerich considers the country "fully capable of acting"

Update 1:20 pm: Thuringia’s managing prime minister Thomas Kemmerich (FDP) considers the Free State to be “fully capable” despite the current government crisis. The ministries are capable of working, which is why, for example, neither state funding nor the employment of police officers or teachers are at risk, Kemmerich said after a meeting with the acting state secretaries in Erfurt on Tuesday. Thuringia is also well positioned to prevent a possible outbreak of the corona virus.

Kemmerich resigned after three days and is currently only managing director. Since there are currently no ministers in Thuringia , the state secretaries of the previous red-red-green government are in charge of the official affairs. Ramelow plans to stand for re-election as prime minister in the state parliament next week.

Update 12.30 p.m .: Are the events of Thuringia pulling the FDP nationwide into a downward vortex? A poll from Bavaria now brings bad news for the liberals, as Merkur.de * reports.

Update from February 25, 2020, 10:28 a.m .: After Jens Spahn (CDU) defended his party against cooperation with the AfD and the Left in his course yesterday, he and Tuesday's NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet caused a bang in the race for the CDU chairman. He wants to forego a candidacy and instead be available as Laschet's deputy if he should be elected. Laschet announced his candidacy for CDU chairmanship in a press conference on Monday morning.

Thuringian crisis: Spahn against cooperation with the left - CDU state association in need

Update 8:58 p.m .: Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) has defended the CDU's line of generally excluding cooperation with the AfD and the Left . There can be no cooperation with a party that thinks and is as external as the AfD, “at no point,” said Spahn, who is next to Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen and Armin Laschet and is the next CDU leader, on Monday at the Political Ash Wednesday of the CDU in Stendal in Saxony-Anhalt. That already contradicts the founding idea of ​​the CDU.

Neither AfD and Linke nor Björn Höcke and Bodo Ramelow are comparable, “because they are not the same,” said Spahn with a view of the Thuringia. Cooperation with the left is also out of the question for “the party of the social market economy”, since the party still has an unsettled relationship with the GDR and offers a platform for communists.

"In the end, we come to the same thing, but the starting point and the analysis are different," said Spahn on the controversial equation of both parties by the CDU in terms of cooperation. The best distinction is a strong positioning.

Thuringia: Merz is in favor of early new elections

Update 20.46 clock: The candidate for the CDU chairmanship, Friedrich Merz, spoke in favor of "early new elections" in Thuringia. The CDU had made a huge mistake there, he said with a view to the election of the FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich to the prime minister. "But we stand together."

Update 20.38: The Thuringian short-term prime minister Thomas Kemmerich has canceled his originally planned appearance at the political Ash Wednesday of the Baden-Württemberg FDP in Karlsruhe. State parliamentary group leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke told the "Mannheimer Morgen" (Tuesday): "We discussed the situation with him and came to the conclusion that an appearance would not make sense due to the political development and the security situation." Kemmerich is currently due Death threats and hostilities are better guarded than the US president. "You should have secured the event in Karlsruhe like Fort Knox," said Rülke. The American gold reserve is stored in the legendary Fort Knox.

Thuringia: AfD sues against changes in electoral law

Update 5.43 p.m .: The Thuringian AfD parliamentary group has sued changes in the Thuringian electoral law. With its lawsuit, the AfD wants to take action against the fact that the candidate lists of the parties for state elections have to be filled alternately with women and men. This change in the electoral law was approved by the state parliament in mid-2019, but the AfD considers it unconstitutional. The hearing on this matter is now scheduled for May 13. A decision could be made in July, the constitutional court announced on Monday in Weimar.

Thuringian crisis: "Höcke" car causes a stir when it comes to the move on Shrove Monday

Update 4:57 p.m .: In the middle of the government crisis in Thuringia , a car from Düsseldorf's Monday Monday procession caused a stir on the Internet. "For those who still haven't understood it, the Dusseldorf Rose Monday parade explains the breaking of taboos in Thuringia, " writes a CDU politician Ruprecht Polenz , who was also a member of the Bundestag from 1994 to 2013. To do this, he posts a picture of the corresponding car.

You can see a figure in a light blue shirt, which is supposed to represent the Thuringian AfD right wing Björn Höcke . On his right shoulder there is a red and white armband with “Heilt Höcke” written on it instead of a swastika symbol. Höcke's right arm is like a Hitler salute , including Thuringia's CDU leader Mike Mohring and FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich . They support Höcke's arm. All three politicians are apparently in the midst of excrement.

For those who still haven't understood it, the Düsseldorf Rosenmontagszug explains the breaking taboo of Thuringia pic.twitter.com/cbChFJtD3Z

Video: advertisement against Höcke on suspicion of sedition

Thuringian crisis: CDU politician criticizes his own party on Twitter for breaking the taboo

With this post, Polenz obviously expresses harsh criticism of his own party . On Twitter, the picture causes different reactions. "The FDP has accepted an offer from the fascist Höcke to get #Ramelow out of office without a democratic majority," writes one user. And further: " Real political power in the hands of a fascist - thanks to the FDP and CDU." Another Twitter user disagrees. "The #noAfD (he obviously means the CDU, editor's note) chose an FDP-MP candidate," he writes. No more was going on. However, the majority of Twitter users seem to agree with the criticism of the CDU and FDP . For example, another comment with a view to breaking the taboo reads: "So the" fools "got it, it is still missing that word gets around in the last village association at the CDU."

Thuringia crisis: Federal CDU fears active election of Ramelow by party colleagues in Thuringia

Update 3:22 p.m .: Thuringia’s CDU leadership had to answer questions about the incidents during the Prime Minister election at the CDU Presidium meeting in Berlin on Monday. On Sunday evening, in addition to party leader Mike Mohring , who is a member of the presidium, his party vice-president Mario Voigt and general secretary Raymond Walk received an urgent "invitation" to the meeting the following day.

"We are sitting in front of the door and waiting - but that may take time, the party leadership is still advising the succession plan for the federal chair," said one of the summoned parties on Monday morning to Bild. Anger is evidently great on both sides: the federal CDU is now preparing for everything with its Thuringian party colleagues - including the active election of left-wing politician Bodo Ramelow as the new head of government - despite all applicable party decisions.

But the Thuringians are fed up with always hearing from federal politicians what they are not allowed to do. "We have not even been sketched a way out of Berlin, we were alone in the storm, " one of the three top Thuringian politicians criticized Bild. He also complained that one was tired of having to reaffirm several times a day that Ramelow would not be elected. "Since Mr. Ramelow can say what he wants, we do not choose him, " said Thuringia Secretary General Walk .

Thuringian crisis: Critics of CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak are loud among state politicians

A member of the Thuringian state leadership especially criticized CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak for his behavior after the scandal election in early February. "From a distance he just knocked on it ! He could have reported in advance, ”said one of the summons.

Update from February 24, 11:11 p.m .: The Thuringian CDU wants to regulate the successor of its outgoing chairman Mike Mohring at an upcoming state party conference . The managing director Evelyn Gross said on Monday evening in Erfurt that the topic should be discussed in the state board. Mohring does not want to run as chairman of the planned board elections in the Thuringian CDU on March 2. At the same time, he plans to hand over his position as head of the regional party.

"I started with the clear promise to end red-red-green in Thuringia and not to extend it," Mohring told Bild on Sunday . Now a "whatever kind of contractual agreement for tolerance of a red-red-green government by the CDU would stand in the room. That is the opposite of his central election promise, said Mohring. And further: That's why I give back his office as party chairman of the CDU Thuringia (we reported).

Thuringian crisis: Mike Mohring criticizes CDU decision - and then gets involved in contradictions

Mohring's justification for resignation seems somewhat contradictory , however, with a view to another statement by the CDU chief. In it he criticized a CDU party convention that prohibits any cooperation between the Christian Democrats and the left and the AfD . This decision was "basically still correct today," said Mohring. But it no longer fits the realities of life.

Update from February 24, 7:05 a.m .: What influence does the scandal in Thuringia have on the citizens' election in Hamburg? With a view to the FDP, obviously a bigger one. According to a survey by infratest dimap, 56 percent of Hamburgers said that the Liberals deserved a memo because of Kemmerich's election in Thuringia.

And some former FDP voters apparently also took this option. In the poll, 20 percent of the former FDP voters stated that what had happened in Thuringia had a huge impact on their decision to vote.

Thuringian crisis: Mike Mohring also wants to give up the CDU state presidency

Update of February 23, 9:35 pm: Parallel to the resignation of his post as head of the CDU parliamentary group, Mike Mohring now wants to withdraw from the state presidency . The election of the parliamentary board is scheduled for March 2, which would also be his last day at the head of the Thuringian CDU . The picture on Sunday said Mohring: "I started with the clear promise to end red-red-green in Thuringia and not to extend it."

After the state election I campaigned for a #consensus in the country. And in January I supported the idea of ​​a #project government at eye level by Dieter #Althaus for #stability. Everything was rejected hysterically.

Now there is a “whatever kind of contractual agreement for a tolerance of a red-red-green government by the CDU in the room. That is the opposite of our central election promise. That's why I'm giving up my position as party chairman of the CDU Thuringia in parallel to the election of the new parliamentary group leader. ”

Last week, Mohring had asked the CDU state associations for more leeway in the decision to ban cooperation with the left . He described the CDU as "walled in decision-making issues". "It is difficult to find solutions to the crisis." It is not a matter of repealing the incompatibility decision, which is fundamentally correct, but of "balancing it out in every federal state".

CDU Secretary General Raymond Walk said Mohring's decision to hand over the country's presidency would be respected.

Thuringian crisis decisive in Hamburg? AfD scandal also a topic in the state election

Update 8:22 pm: The AfD also looks to Thuringia after its poor performance in the Hamburg elections. The Berlin AfD parliamentary group leader Georg Pazderski sees Hamburg as a receipt for the party's open right flank: The AfD must "sharpen its conservative image and draw an even clearer border to the right wing". The right-wing national "wing" of Thuringian AfD chief Björn Höcke is also required here. Pazderski, like other more moderate AfD politicians, was voted out of office at the end of 2019, instead the influence of "wing" people is growing there.

Update 7:20 p.m .: The citizens of Hamburg have elected a new state parliament - in the state elections it put a historic smack for the CDU. FDP and AfD could even fail at the five percent hurdle. Some politicians attribute the result to the events in Thuringia .

The Left Party, SPD and Greens in Thuringia already made an aggressive statement in the evening: "The heavy losses for the CDU, FDP and AfD show how much voters punish the taboo breach of February 5 at the ballot box," said the Thuringian Left Party. State chairwoman Susanne Hennig-Wellsow on Sunday evening in Erfurt.

Update 15.35: Bodo Ramelow has no understanding for the back and forth of the CDU. He posted on Twitter: "According to statements from Berlin: I can't think of more." He shared a picture from the "Madagascar" cartoon series. Below you can read: "Stubbornly smile and wave men."

Suspicion against the Thuringian CDU parliamentary group: Is it only about diets and pensions?

Update 9.45 a.m .: Up to four CDU MPs would have to vote for the Prime Minister election in Thuringia Bodo Ramelow from the left. This would violate an " incompatibility decision" made by the federal party. Because the currently only real People's Party does not want to cooperate with the Left Party or the AfD.

Why may the Thuringian CDU parliamentary group ignore this requirement? The picture speculates that - as is so often the case - it is about dear money. Since the Christian Democrats would face heavy loss of votes, a quick new election should be avoided . It had been agreed that if Ramelow would be reinstalled as a father, the Thuringians would not be asked to vote again until April 2021. In the meantime, the 21 CDUs in the state parliament could claim their monthly diets of 5803 euros plus an allowance of 1329 euros .

In addition: According to the Members' Act, Section 13, the pension is rounded up by one year every April. 5.5 years in the state parliament are sufficient.

Whoever is wondering why Thuringian MPs are targeting April for new elections: According to the Members' Act, Section 13, the pension is rounded up by one year every April. 5.5 years in the state parliament are sufficient. #Thuringia

There is also hope that the Chancellor's party would do significantly better in elections in a year than it currently does. According to recent surveys , a third of the votes would collapse .

The crisis in Thuringia also shows its effects on the Hamburg election on February 23. The CDU in particular suffers from it.

Thuringian crisis: Mike Mohring resigns as Thuringian CDU chief

Update 7.21 a.m .: The Thuringian CDU leader Mike Mohring has announced that in addition to the parliamentary group chair in the Thuringian state parliament, the party chair will also be given up in March. He started with the clear promise to end red-red-green in Thuringia and not to extend it, said Mohring of "Bild am Sonntag". Now there would be "any kind of contractual agreement for a tolerance of a red-red-green government by the CDU in space", which is the opposite of a central election promise of the CDU.

After the state election, he himself campaigned for a "consensus in the country" and in January "supported the idea of ​​a project government at eye level". But "everything was hysterically rejected," criticized Mohring. On March 2, the CDU wants to elect a new parliamentary board.

Mohring has been criticized in its own ranks since the Thuringia election. He had already announced in mid-February that he wanted to step down as chairman. However, the new election should take place in May at a party convention. Now Mohring's withdrawal takes place much earlier.

Update 20.17: "The decision of the CDU Thuringia to vote for Mr. Ramelow temporarily damages the credibility of the CDU in all of Germany, " complains Friedrich Merz on Twitter, "the Thuringian CDU would never have contemptuously dealt with our from the beginning Allow democracy to enter through the AfD. "

Hard words that the CDU board candidate * da sends on the net. But Friedrich Merz is not the only one who strongly condemns such a deal . The man who is supposed to benefit from it does not want to know anything about an agreement.

Deal in Thuringia? Friedrich Merz beside himself - but Bodo Ramelow doesn't want to have anything agreed

"There is no agreement with the CDU that the parliamentary group will elect me," explains the left-wing politician of the "Thuringian General". Nevertheless, he was certain that he would be elected Prime Minister in the first ballot.

It is even clear that the Union is not positioning itself as a supporter. The alleged deal does not exist, according to the 64-year-old. " On the contrary: Instead, we have consistently talked about the fact that the Thuringian CDU must of course observe its federal resolutions . That was the starting point and was respected by all four groups at the table, ”he clarifies.

Deal to end Thuringia crisis - is the federal CDU tipping the “historic compromise”?

Update from February 22, 3:02 p.m .: According to Secretary General Paul Ziemiak, the Federal CDU rejects the election of a left-wing Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow in Thuringia with the help of the CDU. Ziemiak said on Saturday in Iserlohn that those who choose Ramelow from the CDU are violating the decisions of the CDU.

Update from February 22, 1:15 p.m .: Thuringia's SPD has backed the controversial compromise with the CDU to resolve the government crisis. The agreement reached on Friday for the election of the prime minister and for the new election of the parliament was unanimously approved by the SPD state executive in Erfurt on Saturday, said state director Anja Zachow of the German press agency. SPD leader Wolfgang Tiefensee and the parliamentary group leader Matthias Hey had been given the mandate "that the SPD can join a red-red-green minority government supported by the CDU".

Spahn rejects the election of Ramelow with CDU votes, also Schäuble with criticism

Update from February 22, 1:15 p.m .: In the federal CDU there is criticism of the agreement of the Thuringian party friends with the Left Party, the SPD and the Greens to solve the Erfurt government crisis. For example, Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble categorically rejects cooperation between his CDU and the Left Party. Schäuble told the “Handelsblatt”: “The Left Party is still legally the old SED. We had and have colleagues in the Bundestag who have been victims of the Stasi. ”The fight against communism is part of the CDU. With regard to the now agreed cooperation between the Thuringian CDU and the Left Party, Schäuble said: "Of course Bodo Ramelow is not a communist, he was a trade unionist in Hesse." But that doesn't change the fact that the left wants to leave NATO, that it is unclear Have an attitude to the EU that she takes a strong regard for Russia in foreign policy. "There is no cooperation with the CDU," said Schäuble. It remained open whether Schäuble made a difference between the left in the federal government and at the state level .

Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn wrote on Twitter on Saturday that he rejected an election of Bodo Ramelow by the CDU. The Union is in a "crisis of confidence". "The last twists from Thuringia" cost further trust, added Spahn. It is now about the "substance of our party - not only in Thuringia".

I reject an election of @bodoramelow by the @CDU.

As a Union, we are in a crisis of confidence. The last phrases from # Thuringia cost further trust. It is now about the substance of our party - not only in Thuringia.

FDP chief Christian Lindner , on the other hand, believes that cooperation with the Left Party is possible in individual cases , but strictly rejects this with the AfD. Lindner told ntv.de that former prime minister Bodo Ramelow still did not consider the GDR to be a state of injustice, but unlike AfD politician Björn Höcke, Ramelow was not an extremist. "That is why you can work with the left in individual cases on factual issues. "When asked whether the FDP should now sweep the broken pieces in Thuringia and support Ramelow, Lindner said:" Political groups make autonomous decisions on such questions. "

Update from February 22, 12.25 p.m .: Alexander Gauland , the leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, is going to court with the agreement of the CDU with Red-Red-Green in Thuringia: "The decision of the Thuringian CDU, a prime minister of the Left Party ins Helping office and tolerating his government is a betrayal of the CDU voters and all victims of the SED regime. That is the end of the CDU by Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard and Helmut Kohl. With this, the firewall to the Left Party, which wants to overthrow the political and economic system of the Federal Republic and introduce socialism, has finally fallen, ”weathered Gauland.

Lieberknecht: "Stability for a manageable period until the new election"

Thuringia's ex-Prime Minister Christine Lieberknecht (CDU) considers the agreement between the left, the SPD, the Greens and the CDU in Thuringia, which has been unique in German state politics, to be sustainable . "It ensures a reliable election of Bodo Ramelow as Prime Minister by a sufficient number of votes," said Lieberknecht on Saturday to the German Press Agency in Erfurt. In addition, there is stability in government action "for a manageable time until the new election".

Ex-Prime Minister of Thuringia Christine Lieberknecht (CDU).

© dpa / Martin Schutt

Update from February 22, 6 a.m .: A party congress resolution actually forbids the CDU any cooperation with the AfD and the left . But now there should be a kind of cooperation. Thuringia's CDU Vice-President Mario Voigt said: "For the transition, these forms of binding cooperation, project-oriented cooperation, are needed."

The CDU will nevertheless start independent initiatives in parliament. "We see ourselves as a constructive opposition, " said Voigt. They wanted to find compromises together and then lead to success, but only “for a limited time,” as Voigt emphasized.

Thuringia: Breakthrough in deliberations - Political sensation is looming: "This is a big day"

Update at 23:02: After the deliberations in Erfurt, left-wing politician Bodo Ramelow announced a small political sensation according to the dpa. “We will go new democratic ways. It's a great day, ”said Ramelow. What seemed impossible for a long time is now to happen: The CDU wants to make a kind of temporary tolerance of a red-red-green minority government of Ramelow possible . With joint projects up to new elections on April 25, 2021.

Mike Mohring, CDU parliamentary group leader in Thuringia, and Mario Voigt (r.), Deputy CDU country leader.

© dpa / Martin Schutt

Update at 10:49 pm: As the news agency AFP reports, left-wing politician Bodo Ramelow on Friday evening was certain that he would be elected as prime minister in Thuringia when he was re-elected . Susanne Hennig-Wellsow, leader of the left-wing parliamentary group in Thuringia, also said: "We assume that the election will succeed in the first ballot ".

Thuringian crisis: Ramelow is certain of victory in terms of new elections - but the CDU could get in his way

The announced schedule , which includes a prime ministerial election on March 4 and a new parliament on April 25, 2021 , is the result of an agreement between all four parties , said Ramelow. After the talks, however, the planned election behavior of the CDU in the state parliament session on March 4 remained unclear . Mario, Vogt, deputy CDU country chief, told journalists about the CDU ban on cooperation with the AfD and leftists, "the basic decision has been made". It remained unclear how Ramelow's election would succeed in the first ballot. Because the coalition of the left with the SPD and the Greens is a minority government and does not have the necessary votes, writes the AFP.

But Green Group leader Dirk Adams said about Ramelow's election , the party is absolutely certain that it is possible to elect him on March 4. According to speculations in Erfurt, a group of several CDU MPs could vote in the secret ballot for Ramelow and thus enable his victory in the first ballot, reports the AFP.

Thuringia crisis: Election of the Prime Minister on March 4 - Bodo Ramelow wants to run for office

Update at 10:14 p.m .: The politicians of the Left, SPD, Greens and CDU were not only able to agree on a date for the election of the new parliament in Thuringia , but they also set a day for the election of the prime minister . Parliament is to be elected on April 25, 2021, and the new Prime Minister on March 4 . The former head of government Bodo Ramelow (left) announced on Friday evening in Erfurt. The Thuringian Left Group leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow announced that her parliamentary group wants to propose Ramelow as a candidate . According to Ramelow, the parties also agreed on a "stability mechanism" . This should ensure, among other things, that the AfD is not the tip of the scales when it comes to political decisions in the state parliament.

Update at 9.09 p.m .: Apparently the left, SPD and Greens in Thuringia have largely agreed with the CDU on a way out of the government crisis . The German press agency reported on Friday evening, citing negotiating groups. Now it is only a question of details, it was said by party representatives in the state parliament.

In addition, the politicians in Erfurt are said to have agreed on an appointment for new elections. April 25, 2021 should have been set as the new election date . The dpa reported this and also referred to the participants in the meeting.

Thuringian crisis: New election may not be until 2021 - an appointment in March is up for debate

Update at 8:36 p.m .: As was heard from negotiating circles in Erfurt on Friday evening, given the difficult majority situation, Thuringia's state parliament could only be re-elected in the coming year . At a meeting between the Left, the SPD and the Greens with the CDU , an election date was discussed next year , the negotiators said, according to a dpa report, unanimously in the state parliament. One of the variants is an appointment in March 2021 , possibly together with the state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.

However, there is still no final decision on the new election date in Thuringia. The SPD and Linke have so far advocated a quick election before the state parliament's summer break, whereas the CDU is in favor of an appointment after the 2021 state budget has been passed.

Thuringian crisis: are the left, SPD, Greens and CDU coming closer? The focus is on dealing with AfD

Update at 7.45 p.m .: Apparently in the fourth round of talks to solve the government crisis in Thuringia on Friday there were signs of rapprochement between the Left, the SPD, the Greens and the CDU . The focus is on a concept for how the other parties deal with the AfD, it was said in negotiating circles in Erfurt. According to a Spiegel report, this concept could be such that none of the four parties was allowed to use the votes of the 22 AfD MPs to achieve their own goals .

Majorities beyond the AfD would therefore always have to be found . According to Spiegel, parts of the CDU are apparently also ready to elect Bodo Ramelow (left) as prime minister - this could make it possible to dispense with new elections. The goal of the parties is to present a solution by Friday. However, the talks should definitely end at 8 p.m. - with or without a solution.

First report from February 21, 2020 at 4:30 p.m .:

Thuringia crisis: Left, SPD, Greens and CDU continue to discuss a solution on Friday

Erfurt - How is it getting out of the government crisis? Thuringia's parties continue to advise this Friday - already in the fourth attempt. At the talks in the state parliament in Erfurt , the Left , SPD and Greens have now reached an agreement with the CDU on a "Stability Pact" for Thuringia. The dpa reports and refers to negotiating circles. Details of this “stability pact” were initially not known.

Even before the talks, the Thuringian Left and the Greens had insisted on promises from the CDU not to go together with the AfD in state parliament votes. The left-wing head of state, Susanne Hennig-Wellsow, is calling for an "AfD moratorium" from the CDU. De facto, the approval of this demand would amount to a tolerance of the planned minority government from the left, SPD and Greens.

Thuringian crisis: Ramelow, new election and state budget as topics

The negotiations in Erfurt are about a majority for the election of the politician Bodo Ramelow (left) as prime minister, the date for a new election of the parliament as well as a joint act in drawing up the state budget for 2021. SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Hey urged on Friday again on new elections. According to recent events, this is also a question of attitude.

The deputy SPD chairman and Juso boss Kevin Kühnert reprimanded the Thuringian CDU for hesitation. The party apparently only makes its decisions according to how it can defend its mandates, he told the Passauer Neue Presse : "In Thuringia, there must be new elections as soon as possible." According to observers, the CDU also wants to delay the election because, according to surveys , it has dropped significantly in favor of voters.

Former Prime Minister Ramelow on Thuringia crisis meeting: "You see us relaxed"

Ex-Prime Minister Ramelow said when asked how the talks went on Friday, however, "positive" and "you see us relaxed. We are at work. ”Negotiating circles said that the CDU could now be ready to help Ramelow achieve the necessary majority in the state parliament in a prime ministerial election.

Negotiations on Friday said, however, that the CDU could now be willing to help Ramelow achieve the necessary majority in the state parliament . The alliance of the Left, the SPD and the Greens that he favored lacks four votes in parliament for a majority in the first ballot. Ramelow had stated on several occasions that he would only take the risk of being re-elected prime minister if a democratic majority was certain and that he was not in danger of being voted on by secret vote with the AfD. When asked how the talks went, Ramelow said on Friday in the state parliament in Erfurt: "positive". "You see us relaxed. We are working. "

District administrator candidate relies on AfD majority - she draws consequences

The four parties have been looking for ways out of the government crisis with the AfD for a good two weeks after Thomas Kemmerich's (FDP) prime minister election . After his resignation, Kemmerich is only managing director and without a minister in office.

A politician from Schleswig-Holstein, however, draws personal consequences from the election scandal in Thuringia. The Lübeck culture and education senator Kathrin Weiher (independent) wants to avoid similar incidents - and has therefore withdrawn her candidacy for the district election in the district of Segeberg. The Kieler Nachrichten had first reported about it.

Weiher, who was supported by the CDU, would probably only have had a majority with AfD votes. Weiher informed the district president Claus-Peter Dieck (CDU) that he would no longer be “very heavy-hearted”. She hoped to win votes across a broad spectrum of democratic parties.

Kemmerich was the first head of government in Germany to get his office with the help of the AfD - under almost grotesque circumstances, as can be read at Merkur.de * among others. His choice had caused outrage and protests across the country. Since then, it is unclear how things will continue in Thuringia.

More on the topic in the video: After Lieberknecht's cancellation in Thuringia - What now, CDU?

After the disastrous results for the CDU in Thuringia and Hamburg: Kramp-Karrenbauer attacks the SPD general secretary Lars Klingbeil - the SPD is supposed to "leave this government".

dpa / AFP / frs

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