Germany’s Thuringia state re-elects leftwing leader after far-right scandal

Germany’s eastern state of Thuringia state voted a former far-left state premier back into office on Wednesday, replacing a liberal whose election with far-right backing created political chaos.
Last month, lawmakers from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats sided with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) to install liberal Thomas Kemmerich as leader of Thuringia. The move was condemned by CDU’s national coalition partners.
The AfD disregarded its own candidate in order to help Kemmerich defeat Bodo Ramelow from the democratic socialist Die Linke party.
Kemmerich stepped down and vowed to seek new state elections later in February after Merkel said the vote was “unforgivable”. CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer later abandoned her ambition of succeeding Merkel as Germany’s next chancellor.
On Wednesday, Ramelow, backed by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens, was reinstalled as premier after a third round of voting in secret ballots at the regional assembly.
He failed to secure a majority in the first two rounds when he faced a dual with the AfD’s candidate, far-right radical Bjoern Hoecke. In the third round, Hoecke withdrew his candidacy and Ramelow ran alone, winning 42 of 85 votes cast – the same level of support he garnered in the first two rounds, suggesting his victory came without the support of the AfD or the CDU. In the third round, the candidate with the most votes wins.