Robert Stuhlmann is the first AfD district administrator. An experienced colleague from the CDU wants to appeal to his conscience, but nothing stands in the way of working together.
Erfurt – So far, political decisions in Sonneberg have only attracted attention beyond the borders of the district in exceptional cases. That has changed since the election of the first AfD district administrator. After all, Robert Stuhlmann and his AfD campaigned for big politics: The election poster slogans “Abolish the euro”, “Close borders”, “Abolish broadcasting contributions” or “Against sanctions – for cheap gas from Russia” were documented by Deutschlandfunk. And the The outcome of the election caused a moderate earthquake among the political celebrities.
The 50-year-old is “only” a district administrator in the second smallest district in Germany on the Thuringian-Bavarian border. At the same time, his political room for maneuver is severely limited. Because Stuhlmann will represent the district of Sonneberg in the future and can help his party to get even more presence. However, its main task is to implement the decisions of the district council. And in this one she has AfD by the 2024 election, only nine out of 40 seats will be held. The strongest faction is CDU with ten deputies, to the same number comes an alliance of left and greens.
CDU man wants to work with armchair man: “Illusion to turn the world upside down”
However, the question remains: how will the election of Stuhlmann affect local politics? Werner Henning, Germany’s longest-serving district administrator from Eichsfeld in Thuringia, is certainly also excited. The CDU politician, who has been in office since 1994, complained in the taz: “It’s frightening how much the new district administrator is concentrating on party politics. He feeds the illusion in the population that he could turn the world upside down. This is utter nonsense!”
But it is possible that those expectations, which were raised against their better judgment, will fall on the feet of the AfD district administrator pioneer and thus also of his party. The experienced Henning wants to work with the confidant of Bjorn Höcke However, he did not refuse in the Thuringian district council conference, as he emphasized. Such a basic attitude would probably only have played into the hands of the AfD, which is flying high in the polls. In addition, the cooperation with the right-wing party, which the CDU has repeatedly ruled out, only applies at federal and state level. The Heinrich Böll Foundation, which is close to the Greens, has already listed several examples of interaction between the CDU and AfD for the local level.
Stuhlmann as the first AfD district administrator: “In office, no party-political freedom”
According to Henning, Stuhlmann will meet at the next district council conference on the topic of municipal financial equalization. Then he would congratulate him on his election, but would also give him a piece of advice: “Follow the law, you have no party-political freedom in your office, and if you think you can implement it, it’s nothing but Populism.”
If Stuhlmann puts the interests of the party above those of the country, he faces trouble anyway. According to Section 3 of the Thuringian Disciplinary Act, a civil servant can be punished under disciplinary law if he does not fulfill the tasks assigned by the state. This can lead to a reprimand, but also to dismissal. It is highly questionable whether Stuhlmann would risk his political career for a few minutes of additional fame.
According to the ARD “Tagesschau” after the Sonneberg election, district council president Reinhard Sager (CDU) said: “As an election official, Mr. Stuhlmann is committed to the free-democratic basic order.” Good cooperation between the district council and the AfD politician is important : “In this respect, there must be no blockade policy.” But the other parties could probably also feel addressed here.
Video: Celebrate with Höcke – That’s what people in Sonneberg say about the AfD election victory
Sonneberg chooses AfD politician Stuhlmann: “Great scope in personnel policy”
Meanwhile, Uwe Schlomer, who chairs the joint parliamentary group of Left and Greens in the district council of Sonneberg, is on alert. The left-wing politician warned in the taz: “We have to be vigilant when he tries to use leeway, for example to slash the promotion of democracy or only spend benefits in kind for refugees.” Although it is not possible to vote against everything on certain issues, Stuhlmann should try to push through AfD topics, the district council will block them.
However, it should be noted: “The district administrator has a great deal of leeway in personnel policy.” And that after his election for the next six years. (mg)
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