Berlin, FRG (Weltexpress). On Friday, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), widely read in German-speaking circles around the world, condemned the deeply “undemocratic behavior” of the self-declared model democrats of the old parties CDU, SPD, Linke and BSW at the failed constituent session of the Thuringian state parliament under the title “Der andere Blick”.
Fatina Keilani’s criticism in the NZZ of the “profoundly undemocratic behavior” of the CDU, SPD, Left and BSW in the Thuringian state parliament at the constitutive session is a strong plea against the political actions of these parties. According to Keilani, these parties tried to curtail the AfD’s rights and undermined democratic principles themselves in the process. “The four other parliamentary groups did everything they could to deprive the AfD of its rights, even tempting it to break the law – and on top of that staged themselves as the guardians of democracy,” says Keilani.
Although the AfD had emerged victorious from the state parliamentary elections and claimed an important role in the parliamentary process, the other parties had repeatedly blocked positions to which the AfD was rightfully entitled and involved parliament in endless interruptions. Keilani therefore describes the CDU’s repeated disruptions as part of an undemocratic maneuver: “The old president of the new state parliament, Jürgen Treutler (AfD), had behaved strictly according to the textbook until then, but did not get very far. He was initially allowed to begin a speech, but was unable to finish it for a long time due to disruptive maneuvers by the CDU,” the NZZ editor emphasizes.
She also emphasized that Treutler, as the oldest member of parliament, will act as acting president of the new parliament until the new president is elected in accordance with the current rules. In his introductory speech, he emphasized that there was no question of the people allegedly turning their backs on democracy. At 73.6 percent, voter turnout in Thuringia was the highest since 1994. The will of the people expressed in this way must now be acted upon.
However, there is “in certain parts of the political-media elite” an “obvious contempt for the people, a contempt for the democratic sovereign that is not compatible with the political culture of the liberal-democratic order”, Treutler is quoted as saying with regard to newspaper commentaries in which Thuringian voters were accused of being anti-democratic because they voted AfD in large numbers. Reality sometimes threatens to disappear behind such interpretations, he noted.
Overall, according to Keilani, the spectacle in the Erfurt state parliament was unworthy, and the accompanying media coverage was partly intoned as if it had been Treutler who had violated the democratic order, whereas it had been the other way round.
There were repeated disputes over the interpretation of the law. During the numerous interruptions caused by this, the sound of the parliamentary television was also switched off. The silent images showed two things: CDU leader Mario Voigt “motionless as Buddha” in his chair directly opposite the president’s desk – and the circle of parliamentary directors there, gesticulating.
Well after 2 p.m., the first item on the agenda, “Opening by the President of the Senate”, had still not been completed. Treutler had continued to be prevented from finishing his opening speech, in particular by constant heckling and disrespect from the CDU. The parliamentary group, which celebrates itself as particularly democratic, had not observed democratic practices.
In addition, the CDU had demanded that the quorum of the state parliament be established immediately and announced that it would enforce this. However, this had been scheduled as item three on the agenda anyway. “As the age president, I am obliged to strictly observe the applicable legal norms,” Treutler had said and therefore secretaries had to be appointed first. It was not possible to deviate from this order. We were still on agenda item one and he wanted to finish his speech. According to the NZZ editor, this earned him an interjection from the CDU: “What you are doing here is Machtergreifung (seizure of power)!“
Author Keilani’s conclusion was to highlight the irony that the AfD, despite being classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, had appeared on the day of the constitutive session as the party that defended democratic principles. In contrast, the other parties had attempted to deny the AfD its legitimate claims through legal trickery, such as changing the rules of procedure. “However, the rules of procedure cannot be changed by a parliament that is not yet quorate. The attempt to fudge the rules shows above all that those who consider themselves to be particularly democratic are sometimes not when it comes down to it,” said Keilani. Thursday in Thuringia was “not a good day for democracy”.
