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Thuringia's Environment Minister Anja Siegesmund, State Chairwoman Ann-Sophie Bohm
Photo: IMAGO/Christian Fischer / IMAGO/Image13
In the minority government in Thuringia, the Greens are swapping their two ministerial posts.
First of all, the Environment Minister and former top candidate Anja Siegesmund recently announced her resignation “for personal reasons”.
Siegesmund was the face of the Greens in the state and also the top candidate in the last state election.
In the course of Siegesmund's resignation, the Greens' state leadership now wants a complete fresh start in the state government and also wants to replace the incumbent Minister of Justice, Dirk Adams.
The two state chairmen, Ann-Sophie Bohm and Bernhard Stengele, had asked Adams to resign on Sunday, but he refused.
As a result, Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) was asked to dismiss Adams from office.
This should happen on Monday afternoon.
Adams had come into conflict with the parliamentary group and the state leadership of his own party in the past few months, according to Thuringia.
Ramelow is also said to have been dissatisfied with the minister's work.
After the chaotic departure of the two Green state ministers, it is now clear who will succeed them.
According to SPIEGEL information, co-state chairman Stengele, who is part of the Realo wing, is to replace Siegesmund as environment minister.
Debora Denstädt, who is on the left of the party, is to replace Migration Minister Dirk Adams, who has come under criticism from her own state association.
This makes Denstädt the second black state minister in Germany after Aminata Touré in Schleswig-Holstein and at the same time the first black minister in East Germany.
The former professional rugby player works as a police officer in Thuringia.
Stengele, who was born in the Allgäu, was acting director at the Altenburg Gera Theater until 2017 before he became a politician.
In a radio interview, he cited racist attacks on people in Thuringia as the reason for his departure.
Stengele decided to go to southern Germany - to then return to Thuringia.
He has been co-spokesman for the state association since 2020.
From the CDU Thuringia, which often works with the red-red-green minority government in parliament, there is strong criticism of the castling.
“The Ramelow government is a crumbling chaos government.
We are seriously concerned about our country's ability to act in view of this catastrophic state of the minority government," says Christian Herrgott, Secretary General of the CDU Thuringia.
»The green part of the Ramelow government is dealing with the consequences of its failed refugee policy on the open stage.
Bodo Ramelow must finally restore his government's ability to act and end this chaotic situation.«
Justice and Migration Minister Adams had also rejected resignation as Minister, pointing out that many refugees are currently coming to Thuringia.
till/fin/stw
