Mayoral election - Reactions after the election in Pirna: Free voters attack CDU
The AfD's first nationwide victory in a mayoral election has caused concern among other parties and associations. "The citizens of Pirna have decided. That is democracy, but the result is very worrying for us at the Association of German Cities," explained the President of the Association of German Cities, Markus Lewe, in Berlin on Monday. The result shows that there is a rift in society in many places.
"We are aware of the people in our cities who are tired of the crisis and are no longer willing or able to follow some political discussions. They must be our focus. They are the ones we have to take with us in the many changes we are facing," said Lewe. This will not succeed with parties that advocate extremist positions. "Extremist parties aim to divide society and stir up fear and insecurity."
Tim Lochner was the first AfD candidate to win a mayoral election in Germany on Sunday. The 53-year-old beat CDU candidate Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth and the independent Ralf Thiele, who ran for the Free Voters, in the second round of voting. Lochner himself is also independent and, by his own admission, does not want to join the AfD. The AfD state association in Saxony was recently classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a secure right-wing extremist organization.
Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) commented on the short message service X (formerly Twitter): "The #AfD has won the mayor election in #Pirna. Against two respectable competitors, the AfD candidate made further gains in the second round of voting. This will of the Pirna voters must be respected. Just like the decision of the other candidates to run again in the second round of voting..."
Left Party parliamentary group leader Rico Gebhardt saw a "black day" on election night, and not just for the city of Pirna. "Voters don't care whether a party is classified as right-wing extremist, they deliberately vote for it anyway," he wrote on X. Gebhardt's parliamentary group colleague Juliane Nagel also used X for an initial reaction: "A relevant part of the population is indifferent, remains silent, a part also votes for a representative of a 'confirmed right-wing extremist party'."
The International Auschwitz Committee recalled Pirna's history as a site of euthanasia crimes. In 1940 and 1941, the National Socialists murdered around 13,720 mainly mentally ill and mentally handicapped people in the Pirna-Sonnenstein nursing home. "Furthermore, this election is a bitter signal to all representatives of the democratic parties as to what will happen if they cannot agree on a common approach and leave the field to the AfD and its voters," explained Vice-President Christoph Heubner.
The Free Voters attacked the CDU on Monday. The CDU had not managed to get behind the second-placed candidate of the Free Voters after the first round of voting," said Thomas Weidinger, state leader of the Free Voters in Saxony. "Instead, by running the CDU candidate again, they deliberately accepted the risk of playing the stool pigeon for the AfD."
The defeated CDU candidate Dollinger-Knuth saw things differently on election night. "Although we rallied almost all forces behind our political offer, the voters decided otherwise. Unfortunately, the independent voters decided to go it alone and thus paved the way for an AfD victory," she said. Both must be accepted.
Election results
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- Despite the AFD's victory in the mayoral election in Pirna, the German Association of Cities expressed concern, with Markus Lewe stating in Berlin that the result is worrying for them.
- The result of the mayoral election in Pirna, won by the independent Tim Lochner of the AFD, has shown a divide in society, according to Markus Lewe.
- The AFD's first nationwide victory in a mayoral election occurred in Saxony's Pirna on Sunday, with Lochner beating Ralf Thiele, running for the Free Voters, and CDU candidate Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth.
- The CDU's failure to back the second-placed candidate of the Free Voters in the first round of voting in Pirna's mayoral election, according to Thomas Weidinger of the Free Voters, led to their attack on the CDU.
- The Saxony Interior Minister, Armin Schuster of the CDU, commented on the win of the AFD in the Pirna mayoral election and urged respect for the voters' decision.
- Left Party parliamentary group leader Rico Gebhardt criticized the Pirna voters for deliberately voting for a right-wing extremist party, despite its classification, dubbing the election result a "black day."
- The International Auschwitz Committee expressed concern over the Pirna mayoral election result, recalling the city's history as a site of euthanasia crimes.
- In the second round of voting for the Pirna mayoral election, CDU candidate Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth conceded defeat, stating that voters had chosen to go it alone, paving the way for an AFD victory.
- The mayoral election in Pirna, won by the AFD's Tim Lochner, has left some parties and associations concerned about the direction of democracy in Germany and the potential for extremist parties to gain further support.
Source: www.stern.de
