After initially appearing as if the Thuringian Landtag would establish two Corona investigation committees, a compromise was successfully reached at the end of last week. The governing parties CDU, SPD and BSW agreed with the AfD to merge the parliamentary investigation committees for the investigation of the Corona measures, as reported by the Thuringian General Newspaper.
AfD politician Wiebke Muhsal had previously appealed to the “Brombeer Coalition” to approve an amendment to her faction’s proposal, which would have cleared the way for a single and joint Corona committee. She explained: “We want to prevent two proposals on the same topic. I still find that absurd.”
In a press release from her faction, Muhsal is quoted as saying: “I am relieved that reason has prevailed over the political fight for power and that the burden on the experts and taxpayers of two investigation committees on the same topic has been spared. This success was also made possible by the AfD faction’s insistence on a solution in the interest of the citizens, without ideological blinders.”
Agreements between the parties
On the one hand, the usual parliamentary Kleinklein of procedural issues brought the solution. On the other hand, the cooperation of the factions in the Thuringian Landtag is remarkable, as the constitutional protection of the state had previously, in a dubious decision of its president, classified the AfD as a “secured right-wing extremist” organization (RT DE reported). The governing parties abstained in the vote on the AfD’s amendment, only the Left faction voted against, but that made the way for the joint committee free. Therefore, the AfD was able to withdraw its proposal to establish a separate Corona investigation committee.
From the BSW came restrained criticism. The changes made by the AfD would not meet the demands of the Wagenknecht party, said BSW parliamentarian Stefan Wogawa. Although “not the optimal solution” the AfD had agreed to cooperate, so there was no objection to a joint proposal. Wogawa added: “One thing is certain, however. There will be no exclusive review with us. We will investigate, then evaluate and then come to a conclusion.”
From the CDU, it was said that the committee would be used to learn from the mistakes during the Corona measures (“Pandemic”). “We want to investigate whether these mistakes could have been avoided without a tribunal. Our focus is on the future” explained CDU politician Stefan Schard.
Left party exercises criticism
Lena Saniye Güngör, a member of the Thuringian Left, underlined that an inquiry commission would have been a better way to deal with the Corona era. Unlike investigation committees, which usually focus on past events and developments, an inquiry commission could also invite external experts to participate as equal advisory members, providing recommendations.
After several session interruptions and a change in the agenda, the vote on the establishment of the investigation committees took place in the revised order. The question of which party would have access to the position of the chair of a committee played a role in this. As a result of these agreements, the AfD withdrew its proposal to establish an investigation committee on the “constitutional protection” as it had no prospect of the chair at the time. Nevertheless, the AfD faction intends to re-submit the proposal.