Call to dissolve state assembly in eastern Germany as Merkel steps into row over far-right party
Chancellor says Thuringia branch of her CDU had broken with its core values
The newly elected premier of the German state of Thuringia called for the dissolution of the state assembly on Thursday after Chancellor Angela Merkel said his election with support from her party and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was inexcusable.
Thomas Kemmerich, a little-known liberal Free Democrat (FDP) in the eastern state of Thuringia, on Wednesday became the first state premier to be elected with the support of the AfD. In a move that outraged her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners at the federal level, Merkel's Christian Democratic Union sided with the AfD.
"This event is inexcusable and so the result must be reversed," Merkel, who rarely comments on domestic politics during foreign trips, told a news conference in South Africa. "It was a bad day for democracy."
Merkel said the regional CDU in Thuringia had broken with the party's values.
Kemmerich responded by calling for the dissolution of the state assembly: "In this way, we want to bring about new elections to remove the stigma of AfD support from the office of state premier."
Previous governor Bodo Ramelow's Left Party had finished first in the vote count, followed by AfD and Merkel's Christian Democratic Union. Kemmerich's Free Democrats, traditional allies of the CDU, only just mustered enough support to enter the legislature, with five of its 90 seats.
In order to dissolve the state assembly, Kemmerich needs a two- thirds majority in the chamber. That would need the support of the far-left Linke, the SPD, the Greens and either the CDU or AfD.
The Thuringia branch of Merkel's CDU has so far shown no inclination to back such a vote. Asked what he would do if he could not find a two-thirds majority, Kemmerich replied: "Then I will ask for a vote of confidence."
Leading members of Germany's crisis-prone national coalition — forged between Merkel's conservatives and the SPD out of necessity in 2018 — are due to hold talks at the weekend to discuss the situation.
The SPD has strongly criticized the election of Kemmerich.
"Sinful and shameful — Germany as a whole risks being damaged unless there are new elections in Thuringia," Sigmar Gabriel, a former SPD leader, said on Twitter.
CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer had already called on Wednesday for a new vote. The CDU and all other established parties have previously ostracized the AfD over what they say are racist views of some of its members.
The SPD is unlikely to desert Merkel's national coalition over the vote in Thuringia but analyst Carsten Nickel with the Teneo consultancy said it would be seen as a test of her authority.
With files from The Associated Press