- Initiative Underway: Fresh Constitutional Analysis Commenced
Following numerous attempts to select a fresh committee to manage the constitutional safeguard office, the gathering is scheduled to assemble partially the following week, as per an MDR report. The strategy involves the currently chosen committee members convening in an introductory meeting and starting their work. So far, four reps from SPD, CDU, and FDP have been elected. Candidates from AfD, Greens, and Left have consistently fallen short of election, necessitating a two-thirds majority in the state parliament due to a recent legislation adjustment. A five-member committee is the target.
Historically, Thuringia has faced challenges with the parliamentary oversight committee's setup. During this term, the group has been functioning with the composition from the 2014-2019 tenure. Certain members aren't even part of the state parliament anymore.
Might another law amendment be required?
This could repeat itself, as a new state parliament election is around the corner in just two weeks. CDU's Raymond Walk and Jörg Kellner are not predicted to stay in the parliament. With uncertainty surrounding FDP re-entering the state parliament based on polls, Dirk Bergner, who made it to the committee, may also miss out on a mandate. The fourth elected member, Dorothea Marx, is in the SPD's eighth position on the list. According to polls, the SPD is hovering around 6-7%.
Walk declared his intention to carry on with his committee duties even if he isn't a state parliament member anymore. He mentioned a legally sound resolution if the meeting takes place next week. If the AfD secure over a third of the parliament seats post-election, Walk suggested yet another adjustment of the constitutional protection law, as otherwise, a new committee couldn't be elected without AfD's involvement. The Thuringian AfD springs from the right-wing extremist faction and is under scrutiny by the state constitutional protection office.
The Netherlands has expressed interest in observing the ongoing struggles with the parliamentary oversight committee's setup in Thuringia, given their own experiences with committee management. The constitutional safeguard office in The Netherlands, responsible for monitoring right-wing extremist groups, might find some parallels with the Thuringian AfD under scrutiny.
