The election on Wednesday 5 February of the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) candidate Thomas Kemmerich as head of the state of Thuringia with the votes of the far right provoked an outcry in Germany and outrage from several European political families.
This is the first time in the country since the post-war period that the president of a Land has been elected with the support of the far right. Mr Kemmerich, who had won the votes of all the elected members from the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party and a majority of the members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), eventually resigned.
The leader of the European Liberals, Dacian Cioloş, president of the Renew Europe group, said he was "relieved that the way has been paved for new elections".
"No concessions, no compromises on our liberal values", he said on Twitter, adding that any arrangement with the far right was unacceptable.
This line was also defended by the Party of European Socialists (PES), whose president, Sergei Stanishev, said he expected "parties that claim to be centrist" to behave responsibly. "Trading the protection of democratic institutions for short political gains is wrong and will backfire", he warned.
Martin Schirdewan, co-president of the GUE/NGL party, and responsible for the state of Thuringia in the Die Linke delegation to the European Parliament, said in a statement that the German Liberals had broken an incredible taboo. "The FDP and the CDU are the ones who are doing the most damage to democracy", he said.
The co-chairs of the French Green delegation to the European Parliament, Michèle Rivasi and David Cormand, deplored the fact that the far right had become "a political adjustment variable" and they attacked the EPP group.
They regret that the latter suspended Viktor Orban's Fidesz rather than excluding it (see EUROPE 12418/17) and that "the numerical strength of the group" counts more than democracy.
The EPP, for its part, has not issued any communications on this subject, confirms a European source. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki – intern)