The premier of Germany's Thuringia state Thomas Kemmerich resigned Thursday and called for snap regional polls, a day after he was voted into office with help from far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) lawmakers, sparking a political earthquake.

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"We have decided to apply for the dissolution of the state parliament," Kemmerich from the German liberal Free Democrats (FDP) told reporters.



"We want new elections to remove the stain of the AfD's support for the office of the premiership," he said, adding that his resignation was "unavoidable".



Wednesday's surprise election of Kemmerich by Thuringia's state legislature with the help of the far-right AfD has turned into a major embarrassment for Germany's mainstream centre-right parties and revived questions about the future of the country's governing coalition.

Correspondent Jessica Saltz reports on the German local elections 01:17

Chancellor Angela Merkel - whose party's own regional lawmakers voted for Kemmerich Wednesday against national leaders' wishes - on Thursday condemned his election as “inexcusable” and said the result must not stand.Thuringia's last election in October produced an inconclusive result. The governor is elected by the state legislature.The shock result turned into a major embarrassment for Germany's mainstream centre-right parties and revived questions about the future of the country's governing coalition.Kemmerich initially held out against mounting pressure to resign, insisting that he had done and would do no deals with AfD. But with no prospect of forming a viable state government, he broke a political taboo by seeking the AfD's support Wednesday.

But a little more than 24 hours later, Kemmerich was forced to pull the plug on the controversial alliance.



He announced that his party would seek the dissolution of the state legislature.



“With this, we want to bring about new elections in order to clear the stain of support by AfD from the office of governor," he said.



“Democrats need democratic majorities,” he added, though he insisted that he had made no mistakes.



‘A bad day for democracy’



Previous governor Bodo Ramelow's Left Party finished first in the election, followed by AfD and Merkel's CDU. Kemmerich's Free Democrats, traditional allies of the CDU, only just mustered enough support to enter the legislature, with five of its 90 seats. They likely will struggle to win seats in a new election.



The last election stripped Ramelow's left-wing coalition of its majority. In a first for Germany, it produced no majority for any combination without either Ramelow's Left Party - which the centre-right shuns as a descendant of East Germany's ruling communists, though Ramelow is moderate - or AfD, which is particularly strong and radical in the east.



Merkel said during a visit to South Africa that the outcome had been “foreseeable” - “so one has to say that this event is inexcusable, and the result must be reversed.” She said that the CDU must not participate in Kemmerich's government.



“It was a bad day for democracy,” she said, adding that everything must now be done to show that what happened in Thuringia doesn't reflect “what the CDU thinks and does".



Leaders of Merkel's often-tense coalition with the center-left Social Democrats are to meet on Saturday to discuss the Thuringia mess. Social Democrat leaders have said it raises questions for the CDU that demand quick answers, fueling renewed speculation over whether the coalition will last until its term ends late next year.



Merkel said her party has sent “very clear” signals after Wednesday's events.



Martin Florack, a political scientist at the University of Duisburg, told ARD television that the fiasco weakens Kramp-Karrenbauer and leaves “the impression that the CDU in Berlin has no influence in Thuringia.”



Merkel's party has yet to decide who will run to succeed her as chancellor in the next election. Kramp-Karrenbauer, who narrowly defeated a more conservative rival in 2018, has struggled to impose her authority on the party.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)



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