After the municipal election - Due to CDU's sharp criticism of AfD's deputy
After the election of AfD deputy district council presidents in all six districts of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, sharp criticism against the CDU is being voiced. The General Secretary of the state SPD, Julian Barlen, accused the Union of "actively" electing the AfD faction leader in the state parliament, Nikolaus Kramer, as a member of the presidium of the Vorpommern-Greifswald district council. The CDU state leadership is said to have finally broken down the "Berlin Wall." However, the election was secret.
The CDU state chairman Daniel Peters and General Secretary Philipp Amthor deceived the voters. "Despite all lip service before elections and supposed decisions on a federal level, the CDU openly supports the AfD," Barlen stated. This is wrong and dangerous.
The state chairman of the Left, Hennis Herbst, also blamed the CDU for the AfD being elected to the presidiums of all district councils. "Black spots are being installed that will shift local politics to the right for the next five years," he explained. "Discussions about a Berlin Wall can be saved in the future because the CDU has already broken it down."
Amthor: No deals with the AfD
"The binding resolution of the CDU in Germany remains unchanged and without cuts. There was and is no political cooperation between CDU and AfD in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern," Amthor declared. No support or tolerance agreements have been given from the CDU side to the AfD.
"False and harmful allegations from left-wing smear campaigns are unwarranted and harm our Democracy," Amthor added further.
The AfD won the communal election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on June 9 with 25.6% of the votes. The CDU came in second place with 24%. The SPD, Linke, and Greens suffered significant losses and finished far behind.
AfD deputy presidents received votes from other factions
After the election, the CDU was able to decide all elections for the presidents of the district councils and city councils in Rostock and Schwerin - partly in open, partly in secret ballots. The AfD deputy presidents were all elected in secret ballots. They consistently received more votes than their fraction had seats.
Only recently, the Landtag in Schwerin had called on politicians at all levels in MV to "not elect candidates from undemocratic parties or associations into offices or functions and not support their motions." The AfD was meant by this. CDU and FDP did not want to participate. One cannot dictate to the mandate holders in the municipalities how they should behave, according to their opinion.
The Green politician Katharina Horn, who lost the election for the First Vice President of the Vorpommern-Greifswald district council to Nikolaus Kramer from the AfD, also held Amthor responsible for the AfD members sitting in the district council presidiums. "The CDU gives its votes to the AfD rather than democratic politicians* from SPD and Greens, even though Philipp Amthor had recently declared that he wanted to hold the Berlin Wall."
The CDU must learn from history, according to Horn. "Once, Nazis came to power in Germany legally because the democratic parties split apart."
The AfD speaks of "exclusion madness" [
(Note: The text has been translated as is, including the last line which does not fit the context of the rest of the text and seems to be incomplete.)
SPD Secretary-General Barlen grinned: "Surprisingly, AfD-Kramer! He is known for his far-right connections: As AfD fraction leader, he declared his allegiance to the formally dissolved far-right wing, sent an SS-trivializing contribution via WhatsApp, and met sympathetically with far-right initiatives such as the Identitarian Movement and the One-Percent Movement."
The AfD state chairman Leif-Erik Holm described the results of the presidium elections in the district councils in relation to the previous communal election results as "a normal thing in democracy". The loud criticism he named alarm reactions. The "exclusion madness" must come to an end.
The AfD's success in the municipal election in Rostock and Schwerin was quite notable, as they secured deputy president positions in the district councils. This was achieved despite the secret ballots, with AfD candidates consistently receiving more votes than their fraction had seats.
The SPD's General Secretary, Julian Barlen, criticized the CDU for actively electing the AfD's faction leader, Nikolaus Kramer, into the presidium of the Vorpommern-Greifswald district council. This action, according to Barlen, represents a breakdown of the "Berlin Wall" by the CDU.
The CDU's state chairman, Daniel Peters, and General Secretary, Philipp Amthor, have been accused of deceiving voters by openly supporting the AfD. Amthor, however, denies any political cooperation or support for the AfD, stating that the CDU's binding resolution remains unchanged.
The SPD, Linke, and Greens all suffered significant losses in the municipal election, leaving the CDU and AfD as the major parties. This shift to the right in local politics has been blamed on the CDU by both the SPD and the Left.
The CDU's actions in supporting the AfD have been compared to the Nazis' rise to power in Germany. Green politician Katharina Horn argued that the CDU is giving its votes to the AfD instead of democratic politicians from the SPD and Greens.
The Green politician's call for the CDU to learn from history was echoed by SPD Secretary-General Barlen, who pointed out Nikolaus Kramer's far-right connections and activities. Barlen also mentioned Kramer's support for far-right initiatives such as the Identitarian Movement and the One-Percent Movement.
The AfD's state chairman, Leif-Erik Holm, defended the AfD's presence in the district council presidiums, calling it a normal part of democracy. He dismissed the criticism as alarm reactions and urged an end to what he referred to as "exclusion madness."
