AfD secures first city mayor position in Saxony: Tim Lochner wins

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Dec 2023 23:21

This victory marks another in a series of successes for the AfD, originally founded in 2013 as an anti-euro entity before shifting its focus to capitalize on public discontent over mass migration to Germany.

An elections poster of German right wing party AfD is fixed at a pole in Oberreifenberg near Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. (AP)

Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party achieved its first city mayor position on Sunday, as preliminary results from a closely watched runoff vote in Pirna, Saxony, showed Tim Lochner emerging victorious.

The carpenter secured 38.5 percent of the vote in a contest against two other candidates.

Gratulation nach #Pirna! #AfD-Kandidat Tim #Lochner wurde dort mit großem Abstand zu seinen Konkurrenten zum ersten AfD-Oberbürgermeister gewählt. Danke an die vielen Wähler, die dieses für die AfD historische Ergebnis möglich gemacht haben! https://t.co/qpbQ5VKRSx pic.twitter.com/NLX1BQiPzY
— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) December 17, 2023

It is worth noting that just days prior, Germany's domestic intelligence agency categorized the AfD in Saxony as a "confirmed" extremist organization, citing its anti-immigrant rhetoric and attempts to undermine democracy.

Lochner, a member of the AfD group in the city council (though not a party member), clinched a historic win for the AfD, drawing praise from party co-leader Alice Weidel, who called it a "historic result." However, the Green Party in Saxony expressed dismay over the election of a mayor from a party recently labeled as extremist.

This victory marks another in a series of successes for the AfD, originally founded in 2013 as an anti-euro entity before shifting its focus to capitalize on public discontent over mass migration to Germany.

In June, the party secured its first district administrator position in Thuringia, another former East German state, followed by its first town mayor in Saxony-Anhalt in July.

While the AfD has seen growing support nationally, with recent opinion polls placing it at 22 percent, making it the second-largest party behind the main opposition conservatives, its strength is particularly pronounced in former East Germany, where it polls at around 32 percent, according to a survey commissioned by Der Spiegel magazine.

With Saxony set to hold regional parliamentary elections in September 2024, along with two other former East German states, Brandenburg and Thuringia, the AfD's influence in the region remains a notable political force.

Alarm rings for European democrats

The growing wave of support for the right-wing political party has in recent years alarmed German and European politicians alike due to its narrative challenging the collective decision-making model upheld by Brussels at the expense of national sovereignty.

The rise of AfD has triggered social democrats much to the point of Scholz calling them a "demolition commando" that is a threat to German democracy.

"Most citizens know that the self-called 'Alternative' is, in reality, a demolition commando -- a demolition squad for our country," Scholz told parliament at the start of budget debate week, while also expressing concern about the AfD's advocacy for a return to nationalism.

"Our prosperity is most tightly linked with the European Union," said Scholz.

"And that's why the calls for new barriers between the member states, for a dismantling of the EU, and for a radical dismantling of the welfare state is nothing but wanton destruction of prosperity," he further said.

Likewise, on August 14, German sources told The Telegraph that the Bundestag is contemplating banning the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In a speech to German domestic intelligence, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said: "We all have it in our hands to put those who despise our democracy in their place."

On October 6, AfD co-founder Tino Chrupalla was admitted to hospital after he was assaulted by two young men who were later arrested and detained by authorities.

The attack occurred before he was due to speak at an election rally in Upper Bavaria.