After the revelation that the Left had coordinated a joint vote with the AfD in the Thuringian state parliament, Bundestag Deputy President Bodo Ramelow defended his party’s conduct. “Because the AfD tries to change its voting behaviour in such a perfidious way, we are not striking our own motion” he told “Der Spiegel”. “But we will not let them dictate how we carry out parliamentary work”.
Ramelow is referring to a motion put forward by the Thuringian Left faction that concerned funding for sports facilities. Last week the motion received a majority thanks to the votes of AfD members led by Björn Höcke. The Left has now been accused of not upholding the “security‑wall” standards it sets when it works with other parties.
The Left describes its cooperation with the AfD in Thuringia as a “random majority”. Ramelow attributes the absence of representatives from the governing parties-the CDU, SPD and BSW-to this outcome. “As Minister President I had to keep my coalition votes together for ten years” he stated.
From Ramelow’s perspective the CDU should have ensured that the voting balance in the Landtag was maintained. “They would have had to step over their own shadow and negotiate with the Left” he added.
Ramelow served as Minister President of Thuringia from 2014 to 2024, with a brief interruption, and during his second term the coalition did not hold an absolute majority. He has been a Member of the Bundestag for the Left since last year.