Feb 4, 2026, 4:42 p.mFeb 4, 2026, 4:42 p.m
The Prime Minister of the German state of Thuringia, Mario Voigt, has survived a parliamentary attack from his long-term opponent Björn Höcke from the right-wing populist AfD party.
Björn Höcke (AfD) had initiated a vote of no confidence against Mario Voigt (CDU).Image: IMAGO / Image13
The 48-year-old remains head of government of the only so-called blackberry coalition made up of the Christian Democratic CDU, the Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) and the social democratic SPD in Germany.
The AfD, which is the strongest faction in Thuringia, failed in the federal state’s parliament – the state parliament – in Erfurt with a vote of no confidence against the CDU head of government, who is currently under pressure because of the revocation of his doctorate.
Höck, a politician who is influential throughout Germany within the AfD, ran as a candidate for the post of head of government – and received 33 votes in the secret vote, one more than the AfD parliamentary group has in the state parliament. 51 MPs voted against the AfD right-wing extremist; there was one abstention. It would have had to take 45 votes to topple Voigt from office. It initially remained unclear who abstained or voted for Höcke from the ranks of the CDU, BSW, SPD and Left.
Dissenters in the governing coalition?
In his speech, Höcke made the vote a kind of mood test for Voigt’s coalition, which only has 44 of 88 votes in the state parliament. “The vote will once again make it clear who stands where,” said Höcke, especially in the direction of the BSW. The BSW parliamentary group is currently considering whether AfD initiatives should no longer simply be rejected in the future, but rather be referred to the specialist committees.
With the vote of no confidence, the power struggle between Höcke and Voigt, which is always fought with tough tactics in the state parliament sessions, continued. The reason in this case: Voigt is under political pressure because his doctorate was revoked by Chemnitz University of Technology following allegations of plagiarism. Thuringia’s head of government wants to sue – according to a spokeswoman, Voigt has now lodged an objection to the university’s decision.
Höcke has already failed once
Höcke first called for Voigt’s resignation, then the AfD parliamentary group requested a vote of no confidence. She already has experience with this: in 2021 she started such proceedings against the then Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left) – even then without success.
Because of the stalemate in the state parliament, Voigt’s government is dependent on the support of the opposition left for decisions and new laws. The coalition agreement excludes cooperation with the AfD.
“Show event”, “Schmierentheater”
Representatives of the coalition of CDU, BSW and SPD in Thuringia – which formerly belonged to the GDR – criticized the AfD’s actions in the state parliament as a “show event” and “smear theater”. CDU parliamentary group leader Andreas Bühl accused Höcke of turning the vote of no confidence into a stage for himself. “They demand power without being able to hold this country together.”
AfD representatives indicated that they have further ideas: The Thuringian AfD member of the Bundestag Torben Braga had already brought up the possibility of dissolving the state parliament before the vote at X. «New elections are needed! If the vote of no confidence fails, @AfD_ThL must next apply for the state parliament to be dissolved. Thuringia needs clarity!” he wrote. (hkl/sda/dpa)