First far-right mayor elected in Germany – DW – 07/02/2023

Far right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) In the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, he won a full-time mayoral election for the first time, his second election win in a week.

He is Germany’s first AfD mayor, the AfD said on Twitter. However, a mayor who switched to the AfD held office in Burladingen in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg until 2020.

In Sunday’s second round of elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Vice President AfD Hannes Löth became mayor of the small town of Rakun-Jesnitz, defeating independent candidate Nils Naumann.

The city announced on its Facebook page that Loth, 42, won 51.13% of the vote. Nauman, 31, won 48.87% of the vote, according to preliminary results of the elections.

“I am absolutely amazed and ecstatic and want to thank all the voters,” said Loth, who has been a member of the state parliament since 2016.

He also said that he was ready to work for those who did not vote for him. His election campaign was based entirely on municipal issues: the fire brigade, nurseries and greater citizen participation.

The Anhalt-Bitterfeld district town recorded 61.51% voter turnout, according to official data. About 7,800 people can vote.

A discussion of the current rise of the AfD

A week ago, Robert Sesselmann was elected Germany’s first AfD district executive, Sonneberg in southern Thuringia, one of the six that make up the southern neighboring state of Saxony-Anhalt and the former communist state of East Germany.

Cesselman’s election was a further boost A discussion of the current rise of the AfD, It currently accounts for about 20% of national surveys. Loth said he doesn’t know if Chesselman’s choice contributed to his success.

Formed in 2013 as an anti-euro party, before morphing into an anti-Islam and anti-immigration party, the AfD has benefited from growing discontent with Scholz’s tripartite coalition amid concerns about inflation and the affordability of the government’s climate plans.

High immigration is also a major voter concern.

The AfD shocked the political establishment when it won 13% of the vote in the 2017 general election, including its lawmakers in the German parliament.

It was 10% in the 2021 federal election.

Some (dpa, AFP)