Erfurt (dpa/th) – The two former Thuringian AfD MPs Birger Gröning and Lars Schütze have left the Citizens for Thuringia party and the corresponding parliamentary group. This was announced by a spokesman for the party on request. The “Thüringer Allgemeine” had previously reported on it. According to the party spokesman, the resignation was communicated in writing. The step would probably mean the end for the parliamentary group.
Consultations of the parliamentary directors were planned for Tuesday afternoon to clarify whether the state parliament should vote on the group status of the citizens for Thuringia. A vote before the budget deliberations at the special plenum on Thursday was under discussion.
With their exit from the party, Gröning and Schütze forestall party expulsion procedures that, according to group leader Ute Bergner, should be initiated. Bergner had spoken of differences in content and an inappropriate tone.
The state parliament confirmed that it had already been informed about the exits. A parliamentary group can be formed from four MPs. However, a prerequisite is also political homogeneity, which is usually given by the fact that the members of the group belong to the same party. According to a state parliament spokesman, the resignations of the two MPs should mean the end of the parliamentary group.
