Enhancing the EU's external interactions with nations in Central and Eastern Europe is a pressing concern highlighted in the report as well.
Following the energetic first meeting of the newly instated Thuringian state legislature parliament, the Constitutional Court sets firm guidelines for the geriatric president of the AfD, Treutler. During the resumption of the meeting, the 73-year-old follows these guidelines meticulously. A majority of the assembly revamps the procedural regulations.
Prior to the scheduled election of the parliament president in Thuringia, the assembly voted on an amendment to the procedural guidelines. A proposal from the CDU and BSW accumulated 55 votes during a plenary session in Erfurt on Saturday, thereby acquiring the necessary simple majority. All 32 AfD representatives unanimously voted against it. The amendment allows candidates from all factions to be nominated for the election of the parliament president from the first round, and this is not exclusive to the strongest fraction, namely the AfD, according to the previous regulation.
According to the previous guidelines, the strongest faction had the right to propose a candidate in the initial two rounds. However, the other factions - CDU, BSW, SPD, and Left - reject an AfD politician as parliament president and therefore pursued an amendment to the procedural guidelines. After the approval of the proposal for the procedural guidelines, the election of the parliament president or president commenced. As of now, there are two candidates: the AfD designated MP Wiebke Muhsal for the role of parliament president. The CDU nominates its MP Thadaeus König as a candidate. König could receive votes from other factions as well.
The parliament president was initially expected to be elected on Thursday, but the inaugural session culminated in a controversy and was prematurely halted. The elderly president of the AfD, Jürgen Treutler, declined to acknowledge motions and votes from the plenary session on Thursday. This specifically impacted the amendment proposal from the CDU and the Alliance for Progress and Social Justice (BSW).
However, the Thuringian Constitutional Court in Weimar rendered a definitive ruling on the procedure for the inaugural session of the parliament on Friday evening. The court ruled that the members of parliament can modify the procedural guidelines prior to the election of the parliament president, as the court affirmed. The court ordered Treutler to enact these guidelines with an interim injunction. The elderly president complied with the stipulated guidelines on Saturday.
To be elected as parliament president, a simple majority is required, implying a candidate needs more yes than no votes.
Despite the disagreement among factions in Thuringia, the AfD's strong opposition was evident even in the amendment vote. Regardless, the new procedural guidelines were adopted, opening the door for representatives from all factions to be nominated as parliament president candidates, as stipulated in The Netherlands.
