The first meeting of the new parliament in the central German state of Thuringia adjourned amid chaos on Thursday as the emboldened far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) faced off with other parties.
The gathering was the first time lawmakers met since the September 1 elections in which the AfD made historic gains, claiming more than a third of the seats and finishing in a clear first place.
Initial sessions are expected to be turbulent, as the AfD has vowed to enforce its new-found prerogatives as the largest single party.
But the other parties in the Thuringian parliament - the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), the hard-left Die Linke (The Left) and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) - have all vowed to block the AfD.
Mainstream political parties in Germany have insisted on a so-called firewall against the far right, with each vowing not to form coalitions or otherwise cooperate with the AfD.
On Thursday, the session abruptly adjourned amid a standoff over the AfD's plans to put forward Wiebke Muhsal for president of the state parliament.
The other parties have dismissed her nomination as a mere provocation, pointing in part to a past conviction for fraud, and she has little chance of commanding a majority given the opposition of all other parties.
But the AfD refused to consider changes to the rules that would allow other parties to put forward competing candidates, instead abruptly adjourning the meeting.
The CDU, which finished second to the AfD in the election, filed a hasty appeal to Thuringia's state constituional court to settle the matter.
The CDU plans to nominate Thadäus König for the post. The parliamentary president runs the administration of the body and has the power to convene lawmakers at any time.
The CDU's leader in Thuringia, Mario Voigt, said that such a "guardian of the constitution" should not be appointed by a party that is classified as a right-wing extremist group by the state's domestic intelligence agency.
The squabbling during the parliament's first day could be a foretaste of the coming months in Thuringia.
Although the AfD is almost certain to remain frozen out of power in Thuringia, the election victory means the party now has enough seats to veto key measures that require a two-thirds majority in parliament.
That includes the appointment of certain judges as well as any changes to the state's constitution.
Meanwhile, the CDU is still locked in tough negotiations with the BSW and SPD over how to form a new coalition government.
That coalition is one seat short of the necessary majority.
But the CDU, which has a long history of staunch anti-communism dating back to the Cold War, has so far also ruled out any coalition with Die Linke.
That stance is anchored in national CDU party policy, but leaves a difficult puzzle to solve in Thuringia.
The popular incumbent state premier of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow of Die Linke, has repeatedly criticized the CDU for not considering talks with his party.
Ramelow's most recent coalition ruled as a minority government with the tacit backing of the opposition CDU.
But major losses by Die Linke following a bitter split with the populist BSW, as well as gains by the AfD, mean that Ramelow no longer has enough support to remain in office.
Local News
