Daniel Freiherr von Lützow (48, AfD) only got 16.9 percent in the Ludwigsfeld mayoral election Photo: dpa picture alliance
By Michael Sauerbier
Brandenburg’s AfD is high in the polls. But in the mayoral election in Ludwigsfelde on Sunday, her former deputy party leader failed with a bang. The industrial city near Berlin will continue to be governed by the SPD.
Tight military haircut, proud aristocratic title – Daniel Freiherr von Lützow (48) makes a good impression on election posters. But anyone who hears the trained bricklayer and failed micro-entrepreneur speak quickly realizes that this is a clumsy populist speaking who neither invented the wheel nor fire.
The Ludwigsfelders have also recognized this. Only 16.9 percent of Lützow voted in the mayoral election on Sunday – although the AfD in Brandenburg is currently at 23-25 percent. A crushing defeat for the man whom the Office for the Protection of the Constitution lists as a right-wing extremist.
Andreas Igel (55, SPD) was re-elected Mayor of Ludwigsfelde by 66.4% Photo: Ottmar Winter
Clear winner of the town hall election: incumbent Andreas Igel (55, SPD). He got an impressive 66.4 percent in the first ballot on Sunday and can govern the industrial city on the southern outskirts of Berlin (Mercedes-Benz, MTU) for another eight years. Despite a turnout of 41 percent, Igel passed the required minimum number of votes.
Lützow moved into the Brandenburg state parliament for the AfD in 2019. Since then, he has made headlines, especially with police reports. After an alcohol-heavy New Year’s Eve party, the public prosecutor’s office investigated him for threats and resistance. In 2022, the Potsdam district court sentenced the people’s representative to years of tax evasion. In his confession, the ex-soldier complained about his failed existence.
According to Lützow, the proceedings were discontinued on appeal. It didn’t do him any good for the mayoral election.