Frenck, a right-wing extremist, fails to win re-election in Thuringia.
Tommy Frenck, a prominent figure in the far-right movement of Thuringia, participated in the district council elections in Hildburghausen and made it to the runoff. However, he suffered a defeat when he lost to the Free Voter candidate, Sven Gregor. The official count from 120 of the 127 polling stations showed Frenck had 31.0% while Gregor took home 69.0%. Although Gregor had the clear victory, Frenck garnered almost one-third of the votes in the district, indicating his popularity.
Frenck, 37 years old, is well-known in the far-right scene in Thuringia and was responsible for organizing several large neo-Nazi concerts, which even attracted neo-Nazis from different European countries. The Report of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in 2022 highlighted his alliance, "Alliance for the Future Hildburghausen," as the leading neo-Nazi group in the district.
Despite his radical political stance, Frenck should have been barred from running for office, according to the Thuringian Municipal Election Law. The law states that "no one may be elected as a district councilor or mayor who does not guarantee that he will always act in favor of the liberal democratic basic order in accordance with the Basic Law and the State Constitution." Nonetheless, the election committee in the district allowed Frenck to participate.
Moreover, he had an opportunity to run for district council president back in 2018. At that time, about 17% of the nearly 54,500 eligible voters in the Hildburghausen district voted for Frenck as district council president.
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In contrast to his defeat in the recent district council elections, Tommy Frenck, the prominent right-wing extremist from Thuringia, managed to gain significant support during his run for district council president in 2018, receiving nearly 17% of the votes.
Due to his involvement in organizing neo-Nazi concerts and leading a prominent neo-Nazi group in Thuringia, as reported by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, concerns about Frenck's participation in elections due to his potential promotion of right-wing extremism remained unaddressed by the election committee in Hildburghausen.
