With far-right backing, German state gets new governor

BERLIN — A pro-business politician is elected unexpectedly as the governor of an eastern German state today after a far-right party throws its votes behind him, a result that raises awkward questions for Germany’s mainstream center-right parties.

Left-leaning parties assail their rivals for allowing the far-right Alternative for Germany, which is particularly strong in the ex-communist east, to help put a center-right candidate in power in Thuringia state — the first time this has happened.

Thomas Kemmerich of the Free Democrats, a party that only just secured enough support to enter the state legislature in an October election, threw his hat in the ring after left-wing incumbent Bodo Ramelow failed to secure a majority during two rounds of voting by lawmakers.

State legislators elect Kemmerich in a 45-44 vote, with one abstention. Alternative for Germany, or AfD, the second-strongest party in Thuringia, fielded a candidate of its own but then ended up supporting Kemmerich in the final vote.

The result draws withering criticism from left-leaning parties. Norbert Walter-Borjans, a leader of the Social Democrats — the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s national government — describes it as “inexcusable” and “a scandal of the first order.” He points the finger at Kemmerich’s party and Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats, which are traditional allies.

AfD’s Thuringia branch has a particularly radical image and its regional leader, Bjoern Hoecke, has come under scrutiny from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency.

— AP