- Far-right Free Saxons seeking vice-mayor
The far-right micro-party Free Saxony will now have one of the two deputies of the mayor in Lunzenau (district of Mittelsachsen). City councilor Anne Liebing was elected as the 2nd deputy at the constitutive meeting of the committee, as an official announcement of the city states. The Left accused the Free Voters of collaborating with the far right. On X, state parliamentarian Kerstin Kötitz spoke of an example of "eerie alliances".
The state chairman of the Free Voters, Thomas Weidinger, sharply distanced himself from the events in the small town in response to a dpa inquiry. While several groups called themselves Free Voters, not all of them actually belonged to his party. This was also the case in Lunzenau. For the state association, Weidinger emphasized: "There is no cooperation with Free Saxony and there will not be any in the future."
In the city council election in Lunzenau, the CDU received the most votes (45.7 percent), ahead of the local Free Voters (37.4) and Free Saxony (17.0). However, the CDU candidate lost the election for the two deputies of the mayor. The 1st deputy position is held by a representative of the Free Voters.
Free Saxony: "This is just the beginning"
"I have to acknowledge that," explained Mayor Ronny Hofmann (CDU) and referred to his duty of neutrality. The tasks of the deputies include representing him in case of absence - for example, in the city council or at jubilees. However, he usually attends these appointments himself, Hofmann emphasized. For the future, he relies on factual work in the city council and does not currently see a general blockade by Free Voters and Free Saxony.
Meanwhile, Free Saxony celebrated the election of Liebings on X. "This is just the beginning," they write.
The Left continues to express concerns about collaborations, with Kerstin Kötitz stating that this is an example of "eerie alliances" involving the Free Voters and far-right parties like Free Saxony. Despite distance from Free Saxony by the state chairman of the Free Voters, Thomas Weidinger, the election of Anne Liebing as the 2nd deputy by Free Voters in Lunzenau has raised concerns about potentially increasing extremist influences in local politics.
