Press
The first AfD district administrator has been in office for over a year now, and his party has nevertheless made significant gains in the most recent local elections. However, in detail, there are still some inconsistencies in this picture.
Sonneberg – It was about a year ago that the first AfD-District administrator candidate, Robert Sesselmann, won the runoff election in a district. The district in Thuringia, Sonneberg, where the Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified the AfD regional association as right-wing extremist, became known nationwide during this time. Only recently, the chairman of this AfD regional association, Björn Höckewas again sentenced to a fine for the public use of a banned SA slogan.
What does it look like there, just over 365 days later, since Sesselmann campaigned with the slogan “Shaping instead of managing”? In an article by Current affairs The two journalists Holger Körner and Niels Bula interview various local citizens and a CDU district council member in Sonneberg.
Critical voices are rare, but something has changed in political cooperation
According to Abdull Abdullah, a native of Somalia who has lived in Sonneberg for six years, nothing has changed since Sesselmann took office. Nevertheless, Körner and Bula encountered a negative attitude towards press and media representatives in the same place and were advised by a Sonneberg resident to “walk better”. None of the AfD representatives on site wanted to take a position on Bula and Körner either.
A citizen of Sonneberg noted that one year is not enough to see any lasting changes. However, there seems to be one: Christian Tanzmeier, CDU district council member in Sonneberg, expressed his disappointment with the cooperation between the factions in the district council. Despite all the agreements, this no longer holds up against the AfD, especially with regard to questions of posts. And this despite the fact that the AfD cannot rely on a majority in the Sonneberg district council.
The “Grandmas against the Right” want to prevent the creeping influence of the far right in their regions
Brigitte Mathes, a member of the “Grandmas against the Right”protests in the Tagesthemen report on the market square as part of an action by the alliance “Sonneberg is colorful” for diversity and plurality of opinion. A fellow demonstrator says: “We don’t want the AfD in power. That’s why we’re here.” Both want to prevent a gradually growing influence of the far right.
Still others hold a AfD district administrator also considers it “extremely dangerous”. The opinions expressed in Sonneberg are as diverse as those expressed in various districts and cities in several eastern German states. More than three weeks ago, local elections were held in eight eastern German states.
Significant AfD gains in the local elections, but things look different in smaller towns
The AfD won the district council and city council elections in Saxony-Anhalt with 28 percent. In Raguhn-Jeßnitz, a municipality of 9,000 inhabitants in Saxony-Anhalt, an AfD mayor, Hannes Loth, has been in power for nine months. In Brandenburg, the AfD won the district council and city council assemblies of the independent cities with 26 percent of the vote, as did the party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
However, things look quite different in other places. For example, there is the city of Zittau, where the voters’ association “Zittau can do more” became the second strongest force after the AfD. Or, according to taz the city of Freiberg, where the protests against the AfD at the beginning of the year resulted in a voter alliance that did not do badly in the local elections. In Thuringia, the AfD was unable to win a single seat in the local runoff elections.
Currently high poll ratings for the AfD ahead of the state elections in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony
Nevertheless, elections will soon be held in Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony, and at a higher political level. In Thuringia and Saxony, a new state parliament will be elected on September 1st, and in Brandenburg on September 22nd, 2024. Observers are concerned about the AfD’s high poll ratings there: in Brandenburg, the AfD is at 26 percent, in Saxony at 30 percent and in Thuringia at 28 percent.
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