Maier adds to the dispute over constitutional reform

Minister of the Interior - Maier adds to the dispute over constitutional reform

In the dispute over the need to amend the constitution, Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) has rejected statements made by head of government Bodo Ramelow (Left Party). Ramelow is now suddenly denying all the risks inherent in the constitution, Maier told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). The Left Party politician had also used a choice of words that he had previously only heard from the AfD.

It was implausible that Ramelow was now talking about legal quibbles, said Maier. "After all, he himself had a bill prepared in November to submit the question of the third round of voting to the Thuringian Constitutional Court for a final decision."

The Minister of the Interior is in favor of clarifying the constitutional article in Thuringia on the election of the Minister President. In his opinion, the current wording does not rule out the possibility of a candidate being elected in the third ballot with a single vote, even though all other MPs vote against them.

If there is only one candidate, the constitution stipulates that the candidate with the most yes votes is elected in the third ballot - regardless of the number of no votes. Theoretically, the AfD could therefore elect its candidate alone if there is no other candidate.

Ramelow had previously criticized Maier's demand as "a strange statement" and reiterated his rejection of a constitutional amendment: "This constitutional amendment is completely superfluous if you put up a different candidate."

Maier emphasized: "Of course we have to deal with the AfD first and foremost politically and denounce their anti-democratic and anti-economic agenda. But at the same time, we must close the potential gateways that could lead to political chaos and uncertainty after the election. Because that is the basis for the AfD's strategy of attacking democracy from within."

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1. The dispute over constitutional reform in Thuringia has seen SPD's Interior Minister Georg Maier criticize the Left Party's Bodo Ramelow for denying the risks of amending the constitution.
2. Ramelow had previously prepared a bill to bring the question of a third vote in Thuringia's Minister President election to the Constitutional Court, contradicting his current stance on legal quibbles.
3. Maier supports a clarification of the Thuringian constitution's clause on the election of the Minister President, arguing that it does not rule out a candidate being elected with a single vote in the third ballot despite opposing votes.
4. If no other candidate is proposed, the constitution states that the one with the most yes votes is elected in the third ballot, raising the possibility of the AfD alone electing their candidate, as a theoretical scenario.
5. Bodo Ramelow has rejected Maier's demand for a constitutional amendment, stating that it is unnecessary if a different candidate is proposed.
6. Maier emphasized the importance of addressing the AfD's anti-democratic and anti-economic agenda, while also preventing potential gateways that could lead to political instability after elections in Thuringia's State Parliament, to protect democracy from within.

Source: www.stern.de