Another translation by yours truly regarding democracy in the German state of Thuringia. Source [A]
The situation as intended was that, given the distribution of seats, the AfD had a blocking minority in Thuringia. As in, they could use their numbers to essentially veto anything that required a 2/3 majority vote. However, the other "democratic" parties are working on changing this.
Additional context:
They voted against a committee size of 14 - which would mathematically give the AfD 5 seats, giving them a blocking minority for things requiring a 2/3 majority (5 vs 9). On Saturday, the parliament, with a 1/2 majority, voted for a committee size of 12. This has essentially taken away the AfD's blocking minority.
However, the AfD plans to use legal means to fight against this decision.
The situation as intended was that, given the distribution of seats, the AfD had a blocking minority in Thuringia. As in, they could use their numbers to essentially veto anything that required a 2/3 majority vote. However, the other "democratic" parties are working on changing this.
Another procedural rule change in Thuringia
Oh dear, things are happening.
The media reporting front is very sparse unfortunately. Reports behind paywalls, using Google you only find few free sources.
Accordingly, on Saturday, they changed the procedural rules not just to change the way the president of parliament gets elected, but also the membership of committees. In a way that the AfD no longer has a blocking minority. [I watched the entire parliament session in a livestream and I can confirm that they voted on the number of members for parliamentary committees, and all the non-AfD parties voted for numbers that would eliminate the mathematical option for the AfD to have this blocking minority]
I need to look into the details again. But, again, and ever stronger, it looks like a coup from CDU and BSW against democracy and the will of the voters.
From that perspective, the Enabling Act of 1933 [which enabled Adolf Hitler to act as dictator of Germany] was also a mere change of procedural rules.
Here we can witness live how corrupt parties, whose majority isn't a given anymore, use criminal methods to seize a power that hasn't been democratically granted to them.
Things are going to be fun in Thuringia.
However, it has its advantages as well: As soon as the CDU is behind the wheel again, you see right away how corrupt and dirty the CDU is, just as scheming as I witnessed them 25 years ago in Baden-Wuerttemberg. You might have gained the impression from the current ruling government coalition [without CDU] that SPD and the Green Party are the main player when it comes to corruption, and that the CDU is so pure and clean, but it isn't. Back then in Baden-Wuerttemberg, from the change from CDU to Green, I already noticed that they're all equally corrupt and they're only changing the bags that get filled up with money and the political direction in which the corrupt acts are coming, but there is no qualitative change. And things are the same way the other way around.
If the majority can just change the procedural rules so that a blocking minority no longer is a blocking minority, just what meaning is there to a blocking minority or an election result?
Do they change the election rules next, in order to make the election results fit their agenda?
Honecker would die laughing given the democracy grandstanding from the West.
Additional context:
They voted against a committee size of 14 - which would mathematically give the AfD 5 seats, giving them a blocking minority for things requiring a 2/3 majority (5 vs 9). On Saturday, the parliament, with a 1/2 majority, voted for a committee size of 12. This has essentially taken away the AfD's blocking minority.
However, the AfD plans to use legal means to fight against this decision.