One of them could become Thuringia's Prime Minister: Mario Voigt (CDU) is challenging Björn Höcke (AfD) in a TV duel. How does he go about this?
Munich - Björn Höcke wants to become Prime Minister of Thuringia, and a CDU man wants to prevent exactly that: Almost five months before the state elections in Thuringia, CDU top candidate Mario Voigt and AfD right-winger Höcke will meet on Thursday evening (April 11, 2024) for a television duel . But who is Mario Voigt and how does he want to face Höcke in the dispute?
Voigt, who has a doctorate in political science, has been a member of the Thuringian state parliament since 2009 and is head of corporate communications at Analytik Jena AG and Blueberry Consultign GbR. He previously worked at Siemens. In contrast to the current Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) and Höcke, the 47-year-old Voigt comes from the east, from the village of Zimmritz in the Saale-Holzland district. On his website he is close to home: “Because the people in our Free State mean something to me, I get involved,” he writes. The Protestant Voigt has two sons.
Mario Voigt: Family was deported by the communists in the GDR
Because his family was deported by the communists in the GDR in 1953, he was influenced by politics at an early age. He studied at the University of Virginia and, according to Die
Zeit,
is said to have an “enthusiastic” connection to the USA, although he recently made it clear to Markus Lanz that people “no longer want to be the extended arm of the Americans”. With his statements, Voigt is heavily involved in the CDU “culture war”, but he always turns against the traffic light parties, not against the AfD. “People are fed up with the green senior teacher,” he shouted from a stage in Apolda, according to “Zeit”.
And how does he want to contest the TV duel against Höcke? He has decided to provide the AfD's top candidate with content rather than attacking the party with Nazi accusations. He speaks to Die
Zeit
of a “stifling strategy” against Höcke’s party. He wants to “take the air out of the fire.” However, critics accuse the CDU politician of giving Höcke, who is seen as a right-wing extremist, a national stage. The station
Welt
, which broadcasts the exchange from 8:15 p.m., was also criticized for this. Political scientist Oliver Lembcke, however, sees the TV duel as an opportunity for Voigt. “If you’re behind, you have to attack,” Lembcke told the German Press Agency.
Political scientist Lembcke: TV duel has “potential to unmask” Höcke
On September 1st, Thuringia will elect its new state parliament. In recent surveys, the AfD was in first place in the country with scores between 29 and 31 percent, but recently lost support. The Thuringian AfD has been classified and monitored by the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a right-wing extremist since March 2021. The CDU, led by Voigt, ranks second in surveys with values between 20 and 21 percent. Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow's Left Party and his coalition partners SPD and Greens are weakening in the polls.
Political scientist Lembcke said that the mood for change in Thuringia was high. “Such a confrontation has the potential to unmask,” he said about the TV duel. He doesn’t think Höcke “has that much potential.” “What he can do is strategically provoke and trigger,” said the expert. But ultimately Höcke is not as cool and confident as many people believed.
Origin of the TV duel on X after Höcke threatened to take an injunction
The duel came about during a war of words about a possible “Dexit” on the
online
platform
can". Höcke then threatened X with an injunction, but then suggested settling the dispute differently: “How about a discussion – you decide the format – on the concept of Europe?” he wrote. “Let’s go then,” answered Voigt.
The scientist Lembcke thinks that Voigt has “a lot to gain” against the “national figure” Höcke. The CDU politician is a professor and the situation is not “tailor-made for him”. “This can go wrong. But you don’t have to be afraid of Höcke.” He thinks it’s good that Voigt has the courage for this confrontation. According to
Zeit
, Voigt recently proved that Voigt can admit mistakes
at an event at the University of Erfurt. For the first time, he directly admitted that there were four CDU MPs who, out of fear for their own mandates, elected a short-term FDP Prime Minister - together with the votes of the AfD. He “turned a snowball into an avalanche.”
(cgsc with dpa)