Second Ramelow cabinet

Last updated
Second Cabinet of Bodo Ramelow
Cabinet Ramelow II
Coat of arms of Thuringia.svg
10th Cabinet of Thuringia
2020–
2020-03-04 Thuringer Landtag, erneute Wahl des Ministerprasidenten IMG 3986 by Stepro.jpg
The members of the second Ramelow cabinet at the Landtag of Thuringia plenary session on 14 March 2020
From left to right: Georg Maier, Dirk Adams, Heike Taubert, Wolfgang Tiefensee, Bodo Ramelow, Anja Siegesmund, Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff, Heike Werner, Helmut Holter
Date formed4 March 2020
People and organisations
Minister-President Bodo Ramelow
Deputy Minister-President Wolfgang Tiefensee (until Aug 2021)
Georg Maier (from Aug 2021)
Anja Siegesmund
No. of ministers8
Member parties The Left
Social Democratic Party
Alliance 90/The Greens
Status in legislature Minority coalition government
42 / 90
Opposition parties Christian Democratic Union
Alternative for Germany
Free Democratic Party
History
Election 2019 Thuringian state election
Legislature term7th Landtag of Thuringia
Predecessor Kemmerich [lower-alpha 1]

The second Ramelow cabinet is the current state government of Thuringia, sworn in on 4 March 2020 after Bodo Ramelow was elected as Minister-President by the members of the Landtag of Thuringia. It is the 10th Cabinet of Thuringia

Contents

It was formed after the 2020 Thuringian government crisis which emerged from the 2019 Thuringian state election. The government is a coalition of The Left (LINKE), the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Alliance 90/The Greens (GRÜNE). Excluding the Minister-President, the cabinet comprises eight ministers. Four are members of The Left, three are members of the SPD, and two are members of the Greens.

Formation

The previous cabinet was a coalition government of the Left, SPD, and Greens led by Minister-President Bodo Ramelow of The Left.

The state election took place on 27 October 2019, and resulted in the incumbent coalition losing its majority to the conservative opposition of the AfD, CDU, and FDP. However, all parties had ruled out working with the AfD, and the CDU and FDP had ruled out working with The Left. The Landtag thus became deadlocked as it was not possible to reach a majority without cooperation between two of The Left, the CDU, and the AfD.

Despite this, The Left, SPD, and Greens agreed to renew their coalition as a minority government. The election process for the Minister-President enables a candidate to win with a plurality of votes in the third round if an absolute majority is not reached in the first two.

The Landtag convened for its first session on 5 February 2020. In the first two ballots for Minister-President, there were two candidates: Bodo Ramelow of The Left, and Christoph Kindervater, an independent proposed by the AfD. They fell short of the required majority in the first and second rounds. On the third ballot, the FDP also put forward their state leader Thomas Kemmerich. Kemmerich was elected Minister-President with 45 votes, corresponding to the support of most of the AfD, CDU, and FDP. Ramelow received 44 votes, corresponding to The Left, SPD, Greens, and two members of the opposition. Kindervater received no votes. One abstention was recorded. [1]

Minister-President election
Ballot →5 February 2020
Required majority →46 out of 90 X mark.svg46 out of 90 X mark.svgPlurality Yes check.svg
Bodo Ramelow
43 / 90
44 / 90
44 / 90
Christoph Kindervater
25 / 90
22 / 90
0 / 90
Thomas Kemmerich Did not runDid not run
45 / 90
Abstentions
22 / 90
24 / 90
1 / 90

Kemmerich's victory was highly unexpected. Neither the CDU nor AfD had indicated that they would support him. The participation of the AfD was perceived as a breach of the cordon sanitaire practised against them by all other parties. It was condemned across the German political spectrum and protests broke out across the country. In addition, Kemmerich insisted that the AfD would not be brought into government, leaving him without a workable majority in the Landtag. He announced his resignation on 8 February. [2]

Following joint discussions, The Left, CDU, SPD, and Greens agreed on 21 February to invest Bodo Ramelow as Minister-President to lead a Left–SPD–Green minority government ahead of a planned early election in April 2021. [3]

Bodo Ramelow was elected Minister-President by the Landtag on 4 March after three rounds of voting. The Left, SPD, and Greens supported Ramelow, while AfD put forward state chairman Björn Höcke and the CDU abstained. The FDP was not present for the vote. Höcke withdrew on the third ballot and Ramelow was elected with 43 votes in favour, 23 against, and 20 abstentions. [4]

Minister-President election
Ballot →4 March 2020
Required majority →46 out of 90 X mark.svg46 out of 90 X mark.svgPlurality Yes check.svg
Bodo Ramelow
42 / 90
42 / 90
42 / 90
Björn Höcke
22 / 90
22 / 90
Did not run
AgainstN/A
23 / 90
Abstentions
26 / 90
26 / 90
20 / 90

Composition

PortfolioSenatorPartyTook officeLeft officeState secretaries
Minister-President 2019-10-27 Wahlabend Thuringen by Sandro Halank-57.jpg Bodo Ramelow
born (1956-02-19) 19 February 1956 (age 68)		 LINKE 4 March 2020Incumbent
First Deputy Minister-President 2020-03-04 Thuringer Landtag, erneute Wahl des Ministerprasidenten 1DX 2752 by Stepro.jpg Georg Maier
born (1967-04-25) 25 April 1967 (age 57)		 SPD 31 August 2021Incumbent
  • Udo Götze (Interior)
  • Katharina Schenk (Communities)
Minister for Interior and Communities4 March 2020Incumbent
Second Deputy Minister-President
Minister for Environment, Energy, and Nature Protection		 2019-10-27 Wahlabend Thuringen by Sandro Halank-70.jpg Anja Siegesmund
born (1977-01-16) 16 January 1977 (age 47)		 GRÜNE 4 March 202031 January 2023
  • Olaf Möller (until 30 April 2022)
  • Burkhard Vogel (from 1 May 2022)
Bernhard Stengele
born (1963-04-23) 23 April 1963 (age 61)		 GRÜNE 1 February 2023Incumbent
  • Burkhard Vogel
Minister for Migration, Justice and Consumer Protection 2016-02-25 Dirk Adams by Olaf Kosinsky-1.jpg Dirk Adams
born (1968-05-25) 25 May 1968 (age 56)		 GRÜNE 4 March 20209 January 2023
  • Sebastian von Ammon
2019-10-27 Wahlabend Thuringen by Sandro Halank-70.jpg Anja Siegesmund
(acting)
born (1977-01-16) 16 January 1977 (age 47)		 GRÜNE 9 January 202331 January 2023
  • Sebastian von Ammon
Doreen Denstädt
(age 45-46)		 GRÜNE 1 February 2023incumbent
  • Meike Herz
Minister for Culture, Federal and European Affairs and Chief of the State Chancellery 2017-08-30 Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff by Olaf Kosinsky-1.jpg Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff
born (1976-02-17) 17 February 1976 (age 48)		 LINKE 4 March 2020Incumbent
  • Malte Krückels (Media and Europe, Representative to the Federal Government)
  • Tina Beer (Culture)
Minister for Infrastructure and Agriculture (acting)4 March 20209 September 2021
  • Susanna Karawanskij
  • Torsten Weil
Minister for Education, Youth and Sport 2017-05-18 - Helmut Holter - 1573.jpg Helmut Holter
born (1953-05-22) 22 May 1953 (age 71)		 LINKE 4 March 2020Incumbent
  • Winfried Speitkamp
Minister for Infrastructure and Agriculture MK19961 Susanna Karawanskij.jpg Susanna Karawanskij
born (1980-05-07) 7 May 1980 (age 44)		 LINKE 9 September 2021Incumbent
  • Barbara Schönig
  • Torsten Weil
Minister for Finance Landtagsprojekt Thuringen 2016 Heike Taubert IMG 9920 LR10 by Stepro.jpg Heike Taubert
born (1958-11-14) 14 November 1958 (age 65)		 SPD 4 March 2020Incumbent
  • Hartmut Schubert
Minister for Economics, Science and Digital Society 2019-10-27 Wahlabend Thuringen by Sandro Halank-64.jpg Wolfgang Tiefensee
born (1955-01-04) 4 January 1955 (age 69)		 SPD 4 March 2020Incumbent
  • Carsten Feller (Science, Higher Education and Economics)
  • Katja Böhler (Research, Innovation and Economic Development)
First Deputy Minister-President4 March 202031 August 2021
  • Carsten Feller (Science and Higher Education)
  • Valentina Kerst (Economics and Digital Society)
Minister for Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Women and Family 2017-08-30 Heike Werner by Olaf Kosinsky-1.jpg Heike Werner
born (1969-05-30) 30 May 1969 (age 55)		 LINKE 4 March 2020Incumbent
  • Ines Feierabend

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References

  1. ↑ "Desolation and hope in German city of Erfurt after far-right vote". Deutsche Welle. 9 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "Germany AfD: Thuringia PM quits amid fury over far right". BBC . 8 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "Troubled Thuringia gets fresh election dates". Deutsche Welle . 21 February 2020.
  4. ↑ "Germany's Thuringia gets left-wing state premier in re-run vote". Politico . 4 March 2020.

Notes

  1. ↑ Thomas Kemmerich did not appoint any ministers during his short time in office and the ministries were led by the state secretaries of the previous government; his government was a one-person cabinet.
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