The 2019 Thuringian state election was held on 27 October 2019 to elect the members of the 7th Landtag of Thuringia. The outgoing government was a coalition consisting of The Left, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and The Greens, led by Minister-President Bodo Ramelow.
The Left became the largest party for the first time in any German state with a small improvement to 31% of votes. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) more than doubled its vote share to 23%, overtaking the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to place second. The CDU suffered major losses, falling from 33% to 22%. The SPD also declined, while the Greens and Free Democratic Party (FDP) narrowly passed the 5% electoral threshold – the Greens retaining their seats, while the FDP re-entered the Landtag after falling out in 2014.
The election resulted in a hung parliament, as the previous governing coalition fell four seats short of an overall majority. No majority can be formed without the involvement of at least two of The Left, AfD, and CDU, all of whom explicitly ruled out cooperation with one another. As a result, no viable majority was considered to exist.
On 5 February 2020, the Landtag voted to elect the Minister-President. Incumbent Ramelow was expected to be re-elected to lead a minority government on the third ballot, which requires only a plurality to pass. The CDU declined to run a candidate, and neither the AfD's candidate nor FDP leader Thomas Kemmerich were expected to garner enough support to win. However, on the third ballot, Kemmerich was unexpectedly elected, winning 45 votes to incumbent Ramelow's 44. The votes for Kemmerich came from the FDP, CDU, and AfD, whose candidate, a fairly obscure local mayor, got no votes in the third round, all AfD MdLs tactically supporting Kemmerich. This was the first time the AfD had been involved in the election of a head of government in Germany, which triggered a political crisis and protests throughout Germany. Politicians nationwide criticised Kemmerich's election, including federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, who described it as "unforgivable".
Under intense pressure, Kemmerich announced his resignation just two days later but remained in office in a caretaker capacity until the Landtag could elect another Minister-President. On 4 March, a second vote was held, and Bodo Ramelow was re-elected as Minister-President with the abstentions of the CDU and FDP.
Election date According to § 18 of the Thuringian Electoral Law for the Landtag,landesrecht.thueringen.de the Landtag election must take place on a Sunday or public holiday at the earliest 57 months after the beginning of the current parliamentary term on 14 October 2014Konstituierende Sitzung des 6. Landtags, auf thueringer-landtag.de and at the latest 61 months after, i.e. at the earliest 21 July 2019 and at the latest 10 November 2019.Wahltermine in Thüringen, auf wahlen.thueringen.de On 28 August 2018, the Thuringian Land government announced that the election was to take place on 27 October 2019.Landtagswahl in Thüringen soll am 27. Oktober 2019 stattfinden, auf thueringer-allgemeine.de, retrieved 28 August 2018.
Opinion polls Graphical summary
Party polling Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize CDU Linke SPD AfD Grüne NPD FDP Others Lead 2019 state election 27 Oct 2019 – 21.7 31.0 8.2 23.4 5.2 0.5 5.0 4.9 7.6 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 23–24 Oct 2019 1,177 26 28 9 21 7 – 5 4 2 Civey 25 Sep–23 Oct 2019 3,029 22.9 30.2 8.2 23.2 7.4 – 5.0 3.1 7.0 INSA 14–21 Oct 2019 1,010 24 28 9 24 8 – 5 2 4 Infratest dimap 14–16 Oct 2019 1,001 24 29 8 24 7 – 4 4 5 Forschungsgruppe Wahlen 14–16 Oct 2019 1,004 26 27 9 20 8 – 5 5 1 Civey 2–26 Sep 2019 3,035 24.2 25.3 8.4 22.3 9.2 – 5.0 5.8 1.1 INSA 16–23 Sep 2019 1,010 23 29 9 24 9 – 4 2 5 Infratest dimap 10–14 Sep 2019 1,001 22 28 7 25 8 – 5 5 3 INSA 12–19 Aug 2019 1,009 24 26 9 21 11 – 4 5 2 Infratest dimap 24–29 Jul 2019 1,001 21 25 8 24 11 – 5 6 1 INSA 18–24 Jun 2019 1,005 26 24 10 20 10 – 5 5 2 Civey 15 May–12 Jun 2019 2,981 26.5 20.8 9.6 22.5 10.1 – 5.2 5.3 4.0 2019 European election 26 May 2019 – 24.7 13.8 11.0 22.5 8.6 1.0 4.4 15.0 2.2 INSA 21–24 May 2019 1,029 26 25 11 20 8 – 5 5 1 INSA 11–22 Apr 2019 1,001 27 25 10 19 7 – 6 6 2 Civey 19 Mar–16 Apr 2019 1,320 28.6 24.3 11.0 19.5 7.3 – 4.9 4.4 4.3 INSA 19–25 Mar 2019 1,008 27 24 10 20 8 – 5 6 3 Infratest dimap 19–23 Mar 2019 1,005 28 24 11 20 8 – 5 4 4 INSA 22 Oct–17 Nov 2018 1,000 23 22 12 22 12 – 6 3 1 Infratest dimap 20–25 Aug 2018 1,000 30 22 10 23 6 – 5 4 7 INSA 29 May–1 Jun 2018 1,028 31 26 10 18 6 – 5 4 5 INSA 9–19 Feb 2018 1,267 32 24 10 18 7 – 5 4 8 INSA 9–13 Oct 2017 1,002 31 20 13 20 4 – 7 5 11 2017 federal election 24 Sep 2017 – 28.8 16.9 13.2 22.7 4.1 1.2 7.8 5.3 6.0 INSA 24–28 Jul 2017 1,007 37 22 11 18 4 – 5 3 15 Infratest dimap 12–17 Jun 2017 1,000 37 27 10 13 5 – 4 4 10 INSA 5–11 Apr 2017 1,005 33 22 15 19 5 – 4 2 11 INSA 15–25 Nov 2016 1,002 31 23 13 20 6 – 4 3 8 Infratest dimap 15–19 Nov 2016 1,000 32 23 12 21 6 – 3 3 9 INSA 17–21 Jun 2016 1,001 31.5 26 11.5 17.5 7 – 3.5 3 5.5 Infratest dimap 10–15 Jun 2016 1,701 32 25 11 19 7 – – 6 7 INSA 4–12 Apr 2016 1,000 31 26.5 13 15 8.5 – 4 2 4.5 INSA 4–11 Jan 2016 1,002 33.5 27 14.5 13.5 7 – – 4.5 6.5 INSA 7–12 Oct 2015 1,017 35.5 24.5 15.5 12 6.5 – – 6 11 Infratest dimap 9–14 Sep 2015 1,000 35 27 13 9 7 4 – 5 8 INSA 1–6 Jul 2015 1,006 38 30 11 8 6 2 2 3 8 Infratest dimap 28 May–1 Jun 2015 1,002 34 27 14 8 7 3 2 5 7 INSA 23–27 Mar 2015 1,004 38 28 11 7 7 – 3 6 10 INSA 26 Jan–2 Feb 2015 1,000 40 29 11 10 6 – – 4 11 2014 state election 14 Sep 2014 – 33.5 28.2 12.4 10.6 5.7 3.6 2.5 3.6 5.3
Election result
|- bgcolor=#E9E9E9 |- | colspan=13 align=center| |- ! rowspan=2 colspan=2| Party ! colspan=4| Constituency ! colspan=4| Party list ! rowspan=2| Totalseats ! rowspan=2| +/- ! rowspan=2| Seats % |- ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| The Left (Die Linke) | 283,589 | 25.8 | 3.6 | 11 | 343,780 | 31.0 | 2.8 | 18 | 29 | 1 | 32.2 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alternative for Germany (AfD) | 242,221 | 22.0 | 19.8 | 11 | 259,382 | 23.4 | 12.8 | 11 | 22 | 11 | 24.4 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 299,438 | 27.2 | 10.5 | 21 | 241,049 | 21.7 | 11.8 | 0 | 21 | 13 | 23.3 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 119,185 | 10.8 | 4.8 | 1 | 90,987 | 8.2 | 4.2 | 7 | 8 | 4 | 8.9 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 71,682 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 57,474 | 5.2 | 0.5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 5.6 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 59,047 | 5.4 | 2.9 | 0 | 55,493 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5.6 |- ! colspan=13| |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Die PARTEI (PARTEI) | – | – | 0.0 | – | 12,524 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0
| align=left| Tierschutz hier! | – | – | | – | 11,936 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| National Democratic Party (NPD) | – | – | 4.6 | – | 6,044 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- | bgcolor=grey| | align=left| Gray Panther | – | – | | – | 5,916 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- | bgcolor=black| | align=left| Partei für Gesundheitsforschung | – | – | New | – | 5,339 | 0.5 | New | 0 | 0 | New | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| ÖDP / Familie | 1,084 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 4,833 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) | 436 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0 | 4,044 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD) | 2,354 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0 | 2,945 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Basic Income Alliance (BGE) | – | – | New | – | 2,700 | 0.2 | New | 0 | 0 | New | 0
| align=left| DIE DIREKTE! | – | – | New | – | 2,362 | 0.2 | New | 0 | 0 | New | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Blaue #TeamPetry Thüringen | – | – | New | – | 856 | 0.1 | New | 0 | 0 | New | 0 |- | bgcolor=#FF0000| | align=left| Communist Party of Germany (KPD) | – | – | | – | 724 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- | bgcolor=| | align=left| Other | 21,004 | 1.9 | | 0 | – | – | – | – | 0 | ±0 | 0 |- ! colspan=2| Valid votes ! 1,100,040 ! 98.0 ! ! ! 1,108,388 ! 98.8 ! ! ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Blank and invalid votes ! 21,774 ! 2.0 ! ! ! 13,426 ! 1.2 ! ! ! ! ! |- ! colspan=2| Total ! 1,121,814 ! 100.0 ! ! 44 ! 1,121,814 ! 100.0 ! ! 46 ! 90 ! 1 ! |- ! colspan=2| Electorate/voter turnout ! 1,729,242 ! 64.9 ! 12.2 ! ! 1,729,242 ! 64.9 ! 12.2 ! ! ! ! |- | colspan=13| Source: Thüringer Landesamt für Statistik |} The Left became the strongest party in a state election for the first time since German reunification. The FDP won seats in an eastern state parliament for the first time since the 2009 Brandenburg state election. Whether the FDP would pass the 5% electoral threshold was unclear for much of election night, but the preliminary results showed them entering the Landtag by a margin of just six votes. This increased to 73 votes in the final results announced on 7 November.
The AfD doubled its performance from 10.6% and 11 seats to 23.4% and 22 seats. The CDU, which had been the largest party in Thuringia since the state's first election in 1990 and had governed uninterrupted until 2014, suffered its worst ever result. It lost more than 11 percentage points and fell to third place, winning just 22.5% of the vote; clearly missing its goal of returning to the head of the Thuringian government. The Greens' federal co-leader Annalena Baerbock said she was disappointed with her party's performance, an anomaly among a string of record-breaking results achieved by the party since late 2018, and that the election reinforced the need to invest more time and energy in civil society in eastern Germany. She stated she was "devastated" by the huge gains made by the AfD, referring to the party as "fascistic". The AfD was described as such at various times in the aftermath of the election by both participants and observers. This was particularly true of their state leader Björn Höcke due to his comments and publications, as well as a recent court ruling which stated that the description of Höcke as a fascist "rests on verifiable fact".
Government formation
The red-red-green coalition of The Left, the SPD, and The Greens which previously governed the state lost their majority in the legislature, and are a total of four seats short. The CDU ruled out cooperation with the Left, and all parties ruled out any cooperation with AfD.
An open letter published on 5 November, signed by 17 state CDU members, caused controversy. The letter urged the CDU to hold discussions with "all democratically elected parties" in the Landtag before ruling out any coalition partnerships, and was criticized by members of the national CDU and other parties, who interpreted it as a veiled call to work with AfD. Earlier in the week, deputy state party leader Michael Heym also publicly suggested exploring the possibility of a CDU–AfD–FDP coalition.
The result provided for two possible majority governments not including AfD: a Left–CDU coalition (also potentially including the SPD and/or Greens), or a Left–SPD–Green–FDP coalition. The former would be ideologically unwieldy but command a stable majority, while the latter had only been tried on local level, and would only hold a slim majority of two seats. Both were considered infeasible due to ideological differences and pledges made by both the CDU and FDP not to work with The Left. Minister-President Ramelow invited CDU leader Mohring to formal exploratory talks during the week of 4 November, but withdrew the invitation on 9 November, claiming Mohring had violated discretion by publicly displaying text messages between them. At the same time, CDU state secretary general Raymond Walk reiterated his party's rejection of any partnership with the Left.
Election of Kemmerich