The opening of a regional parliament doesn’t usually make for edge-of-the-seat politics. But in the German state of Thuringia, the first session of newly elected MPs descended into such unsavoury chaos that some commentators now fear for German democracy itself.
A few weeks ago, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) won the Thuringian parliamentary election, making it the first significant far-right victory in Germany since the Nazis. All other political parties agreed to uphold their cordon sanitaire around the AfD, but the first parliamentary session on Thursday showed that the democratic system isn’t designed to isolate the election winner.
Picture Corbyn and Braverman drafting a history curriculum together for an idea of how difficult this will be
What was supposed to happen is this: the oldest MP acts as honorary president of the new parliament until the actual president is elected. The strongest party nominates a candidate for parliamentary president. The honorary president then opens parliament, whose first act is to vote for or against the nominee to become president.
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