From BZ/dpa
The city of Seelow is facing an exciting election Sunday. A new mayor will be elected in the district town with around 5,400 inhabitants. The non-party incumbent mayor Robert Nitz (34) and the AfD parliamentary group leader in the city council, Falk Janke (60), compete against each other.
If Janke was successful, he would be the first full-time mayor of the AfD in Brandenburg. The previous mayor Jörg Schröder died unexpectedly in April.
AfD federal chairman Tino Chrupalla campaigned for Janke at the end of the campaign on Saturday. Chrupalla relies on “resistance” from the municipalities against the traffic light government. “Look at inflation, look at energy prices – what this federal government is doing here has nothing to do with respect,” Chrupalla said. “This must be met with resistance from below, from the people, also at the municipal level.”
The AfD candidate Janke campaigned for himself with a view to many years of local political experience. “No one in this city has put their heads up there for so long, messed with the people,” said Janke. During the election campaign, the ex-CDU member called for a stop to migrants, the preservation of the hospital and safe schools. He rejects the accusation of right-wing extremist tendencies – which was raised against him a few years ago in the AfD district parliamentary group.
Election posters of the two mayoral candidates, the non-party candidate Robert Nitz and Falk Janke from the AfD in the district town of Seelow Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Patrick Pleul
Nitz also sees the necessary experience in himself. The first deputy mayor said that he had been in charge of personnel in the Bundeswehr from a young age. Nitz sees a school construction program as the most important goal. Nitz is supported in the city council by the three factions Left, SPD and Heimat-Kultur-Sport/CDU/FDP.
The AfD hopes for further successes in districts, cities and communities. On Wednesday, Germany’s first AfD district administrator, Robert Stuhlmann, was sworn in in Sonneberg in Thuringia. On the same day, the full-time mayor of the AfD in the small town of Raguhn-Jeßnitz in Saxony-Anhalt, Hannes Loth, took the oath of office. “This train will not be able to be stopped,” said Chrupalla. The AfD is classified by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a suspected right-wing extremist. The Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution also classifies the state party as such.
Seelow has an eventful history: The Battle of the Seelow Heights is considered the largest battle of the Second World War on German soil. With a view to the mass graves, AfD leader Chrupalla campaigned on Saturday for there to be no war with Russia and no war in Europe. Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022.
So far, Brandenburg has not had an AfD district administrator or mayor. In 2017, AfD politician Detlev Frye was elected honorary mayor. However, due to a procedural error, he was only in office for a few days.