The political drama in the state of Thuringia goes on. Toward the end of last week Dieter Althaus , the incumbent Christian Democratic state governor and a close ally of Angela Merkel's, resigned  from his post "with immediate effect." The move was seen as a sacrificial offering that would allow Althaus' center-right CDU, which had lost their absolute majority in Thuringia in recent state elections,  to form a coalition with the center-left Social Democrats.

But this week, on Monday afternoon, Althaus -- a controversial figure due to, among other reasons, his role in a ski accident earlier this year in which a person was killed -- announced that he would be heading back to his office to lead the cabinet meeting in the Thuringia state capital Erfurt on Tuesday. This has led to irritation among his political party colleagues.

According to the Thuringia state constitution, a governor must remain in office to complete duties of state until his replacement has been sworn in. And according to Fried Dahmen, a spokesperson for the administration, all that Althaus did was take a short holiday after his Thursday resignation. Dahmen did not want to talk about why Althaus had used the words "with immediate effect" last week. Mike Mohring, the CDU's floor leader in the Thuringia state assembly, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper that Althaus is planning to take his seat in the state assembly.

'Compromise Candidate' Already Announced

At the same time though, a replacement for Althaus has already been mooted. Thuringia Finance Minister Birgit Diezel, who is heading the committee negotiating the formation of a ruling coalition in the state, proposed Christine Lieberknecht, the state's minister of social affairs, family and health, as a replacement. Diezel, who had cleared the way for Lieberknecht by withdrawing her own candidacy for the post, firmed up the suggestion in remarks to the German press agency DPA on Monday night -- after Althaus' return was announced. Lieberknecht is widely seen as a "compromise candidate" and Diezel is likely to move up to become chair of the CDU in Thuringia.

The center-right CDU lost their outright majority in Thuringia in state elections on Aug. 30  and are now trying to form a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD). This would mirror the so-called "grand coalition" that has been in power on the national level for the past four years. The SPD, who are also eyeing up other coalition partners in the form of the left-wing Left Party and the Greens, had already said they would not form a coalition under Althaus, who has been in charge of Thuringia since June 2003.

On Tuesday morning, around half of the CDU in the state had fallen into line, releasing a statement that said they welcomed Lieberknecht's candidacy for governor. Putting Lieberknecht's name forward was simply a matter of finding a stable government for Thuringia, Diezel explained. "It is all about a pragmatic decision without ego."

Political Situation in Thuringia Far From Stable

However the current situation seems far from stable. Historically, the CDU is a predominantly Christian, largely Catholic, party and while Althaus is Catholic, the two female politicians are Protestants. As the Süddeutsche Zeitung writes on Tuesday, "Althaus' sudden return could have something to do with a power struggle within the Thuringia CDU. The Catholic and Protestant wings of the Thuringia branch of the party cannot seem to come to a decision about what comes next."

On Tuesday morning, the Rheinische Post newspaper published an interview with Mohring in which he described the two female candidates as "too liberal." Meanwhile Lieberknecht herself told radio station Deutschlandradio Kultur, that although the state constitution is clearly on Althaus' side, "the constitution is one thing, political perception is another."