German government officials resign after aligning with far-right

Two German officials in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government have resigned after breaking a widely-accepted political taboo by aligning themselves with the far-right.

Chancellor Merkel on Saturday effectively dismissed Christian Hirte, who was a junior minister and the government’s commissioner for eastern Germany, after he congratulated Thomas Kemmerich — newly elected Thuringia’s state premier with backing from far-right MPS — on his success.

Hirte, a member of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), tweeted that he resigned after Merkel told him he could no longer do the job. Merkel’s spokesman, Steffen Seibert, confirmed his dismissal.

Kemmerich, too, resigned due to the stigma linked to the support he had received from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

“I announce my resignation as Thuringia minister-president effective immediately,” said Kemmerich, who is a member of the liberal Free Democrats, one of Germany’s smaller parties.

Kemmerich had been elected to the post on Wednesday with the backing of regional deputies from both Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party, as well as AfD.

Merkel had called the manner of his election “unforgivable.”

By accepting the resignations, Merkel saved her tenuous coalition with center-left Social Democrats (SPD). German media said the SPD had demanded Kemerich's resignation as a condition for remaining in the coalition, which met Saturday in Berlin after the Social Democrats demanded a “clarification” of the CDU’s position.
A third official, regional CDU leader Mike Mohring also said on Friday that he would be stepping down in May after ignoring pleas by party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer not to vote alongside the AfD.

Kemmerich’s election was the first time a state premier was elected with the help of the far-right, crossing a red line in German politics in which mainstream parties have continuously distanced themselves from the pro-Nazi AfD.