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The Thuringian AfD boss Björn Höcke congratulates the short-term minister Kemmerich on the election
Photo:
HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / REUTERS
Almost eight months ago the FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich was Prime Minister in Thuringia for a short time - with the votes of the CDU and AfD.
The acceptance of the election was controversial nationwide, Kemmerich later resigned.
Now he has defended the incident.
Kemmerich wrote on Twitter on Thursday evening that he had accepted the election as head of government.
The mistake, however, was "the way the other democratic parties deal with the situation".
He did not explain what exactly he meant by that.
The tweet is the answer to another Twitter user who accused him of never having such great uncertainty in Thuringia as in the four weeks he was Prime Minister.
The FDP presidium clearly distances itself from Kemmerich
The FDP top responded immediately on Friday, it joined forces at short notice in a telephone line and then distributed a joint statement via the new FDP general secretary Volker Wissing.
It said that the FDP presidium was "completely distancing itself from the current statements by Thomas Kemmerich".
The Free Democrats stand for freedom, for civil rights, for the social market economy, for an open society in which people can develop freely, and for a future-affirming policy.
"This attitude already shows that there can be no overlap with a party that relies on social exclusion, economically on isolation and does not manage to distance itself clearly from ethnic, racist and right-wing extremist elements," it continues.
With the AfD there could be "no cooperation" for the FDP.
The Presidium also clearly states that Kemmerich is responsible for the election of the Prime Minister of Thuringia.
"Accepting the election was a serious political and personal mistake. It was in stark contrast to the liberal attitude of the Free Democrats," said the Presidium.
Kemmerich's announcement that he wanted to run for a top office again had been followed with concern in the past few weeks.
Now the statement of the presidium says: "The federal association will not support a top candidate by Thomas Kemmerich in the next election of the state parliament of Thuringia."
The decision on the top candidate is made by the FDP regional association of Thuringia.
"For the presidium of the FDP it is certain, however, that there will be no financial, logistical or organizational support for an election campaign of a top candidate Thomas Kemmerich from the federal association," said the FDP presidium, chaired by FDP leader Christian Lindner.
From circles of the FDP federal executive committee it was also said on Friday that the representatives of the FDP Thuringia and Kemmerich themselves had emphasized at various meetings that in retrospect the acceptance of the election was a mistake.
"The fact that Kemmerich suddenly presented this completely differently has finally destroyed all trust," said an FDP member.
And: The Thuringian general secretary and parliamentary managing director Robert-Martin Montag "even tearfully apologized" to the federal executive committee after the election in February and declared that accepting the election was a mistake, it said.
The Prime Minister election was preceded by a trick
Kemmerich was elected Prime Minister of Thuringia on February 5, 2020 with the votes of the AfD parliamentary group led by Björn Höcke.
The right-wing populists had put up their own candidate for the office of Prime Minister, but in the third ballot they did not vote for him, but for Kemmerich.
The behavior of the AfD MPs was an electoral trick, representatives from the FDP and the CDU claim that they were completely taken by surprise.
Kemmerich had accepted the election despite the obvious votes from the AfD.
A political crisis followed that did not affect Thuringia but the entire Federal Republic.
Kemmerich resigned three days after the election, but remained in office until March 4, 2020.
On that day, the left-wing politician Bodo Ramelow was re-elected Prime Minister of the Free State.
Kemmerich ran side by side with corona deniers
Even after his election, Kemmerich's behavior continued to attract nationwide criticism.
In May, the FDP politician took part in a protest against the restrictions to contain the corona pandemic in Gera, East Thuringia - without a mask and safety clearances.
The FDP chairman Christian Lindner also had little understanding for his colleague.
"Anyone who campaigns for civil rights and an intelligent opening strategy does not demonstrate with obscure circles and does not renounce distance and protection," he wrote on Twitter.
Shortly after the appearance in Gera, Kemmerich announced that his function on the Federal Liberal Board would be suspended for the time being.
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