After it was revealed that The Left had coordinated a joint ballot with the AfD in the Thuringian Landtag, Bundestag vice‑president Bodo Ramelow defended his party’s conduct. He told Der Spiegel that, although the AfD may be acting “perfidiously” to alter the voting line, that does not mean the Left drops its own proposals. “We will not be dictated how we do parliamentary work by them” he added.
Ramelow was referring to a motion from the Thuringian Left faction that dealt with funding for sports facilities. The initiative had gained a majority last week thanks to votes from the AfD, whose leadership is now headed by Björn Höcke. The Left is being criticized for not keeping the same “firewall” standards it enforces on other parties.
The party calls its collaboration with the AfD in Thuringia a “random majority”. Ramelow attributes this situation to the lack of opposition from the governing parties – CDU, SPD, and BSW – and blames them for failing to maintain a balanced voting proportion. “During the ten years I served as minister‑premier I had to make sure my coalition’s votes stayed together” he said.
He further said the CDU should have ensured the composition of votes in the Landtag, but would need to “jump over its shadow” and negotiate with the Left to achieve that.
Ramelow was minister‑premier of Thuringia from 2014 to 2024, with a brief interruption. In his second term he governed without an outright majority. He has represented the Left in the Bundestag since last year.
