Germany's Far-Right AfD Flubs Bid To Oust Thuringia Premier

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in the central state of Thuringia has failed in its bid to oust state premier Bodo Ramelow in a vote of no confidence on late last week, a belated report by Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) said.

State AfD leader Bjoern Hoecke fell short of the absolute majority of 46 votes he needed to push the left-wing Ramelow out as head of government, garnering only 22 votes from Thuringia's 90 parliamentarians. The other five parties in the parliament had publicly announced beforehand that they would not vote for Hoecke.

The conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) in the state had criticized the doomed motion as a way to use the parliament "as a stage for a show." Ramelow, from the Left Party, is now set to remain in the office that he has held since March 2020 until elections expected in 2024.

The vote in 2020 triggered political tensions across Germany, after politicians from Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU in Thuringia joined the AfD in backing another candidate for the job of state premier.

Germany goes to the polls for a nationwide election on September 26 with the conservatives well ahead in recent polls, although also well short of an overall majority. Merkel resigned as CDU leader in 2018 and has made it clear that she would not continue as chancellor after the elections.

WEEKLY FEATURE : PAL READY TO SOAR WITH PANDEMIC