The AfD candidate Stuhlmann prevailed in the runoff election for the district office in the Thuringian district of Sonneberg. This is the first time that the party has a district administrator. In Thuringia, the AfD is classified and monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as right-wing extremists.
The AfD candidate Robert Stuhlmann emerged as the winner of the district election in the Thuringian district of Sonneberg. This is the first time that he has held such a top municipal office for the party in Germany.
The 50-year-old received 52.8 percent of the votes in the runoff election in the district in southern Thuringia and thus received the necessary absolute majority, as the election management announced. The CDU candidate Jürgen Köpper, who was also supported by the left, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, lost 47.2 percent.
According to the State Statistical Office, voter turnout was 58.2 percent. In the first round of the election, Stuhlmann had already achieved almost 47 percent of the votes. The district in the Thuringian Forest with 57,000 inhabitants and around 48,000 eligible voters is one of the smallest in Germany.
Stuhlmann is a lawyer and currently a member of the AfD state parliament in Erfurt. He comes from the town of Sonneberg. As a future district administrator, he will have a stage for the AfD, for example for protesting against the accommodation of refugees. However, Stuhlmann does not have too much creative freedom. According to the law, a district administrator heads the district office and implements decisions of the district council – the office is often more like that of a managing director.
Election campaign mainly with federal issues
CDU candidate Köpper described the outcome of the election as “disappointing” and spoke of a bad day for the district of Sonneberg and Thuringia. “Despite the highly committed work of countless election workers, the Sonnebergers decided differently today,” he said, according to a statement. In the end, the election campaign was overshadowed by the bad policies of the federal government.
Stuhlmann and the AfD fought the election campaign primarily with federal issues such as the controversial heating law, high inflation or increased refugee numbers. In the region, which is rural and conservative, there was talk of a vote on federal policy, with which many people are currently dissatisfied.
According to a “Spiegel” report, the Thuringian police are investigating Stuhlmann. She is therefore investigating the suspicion that he is said to have verbally threatened a man during the election campaign who wanted to hang up CDU posters. The AfD politician is said to have accused the man of tampering with Stuhlmann’s posters.
Stuhlmann wants to talk to all factions
Stuhlmann announced that he also wanted to speak to the political opponent. One should leave out ideological considerations, said Stuhlmann at the AfD election party in Sonneberg. He wants to talk to all factions. “We also have to approach our political opponents,” he said, emphasizing that he was dealing with issues such as budget consolidation or school renovations.
Mr. Stuhlmann intends to resign from his seat in the state parliament. “I have limited hours,” he said. The AfD sees Stuhlmann “on the way to becoming a people’s party”. With a view to the upcoming state elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, he said: “We can make history next year, 2024.”
In a speech at the election party, he criticized the media as “system media” that had gotten him into an ideological election campaign. The Thuringian AfD state association, of which Stuhlmann is a member, is classified and monitored by the state secret service as a secure right-wing extremist.
District council: “There must be no blockade policy”
The German District Association reminded that all district administrators are bound by the law. “As an electoral officer, Mr. Stuhlmann is committed to the free-democratic basic order,” said District Council President Reinhard Sager. “We take note of today’s election result.”
The district must remain capable of acting, which can only succeed if the district council and district administrator work together well. “In this respect, there must be no blockade policy. It must be emphasized that this is the result of a democratic election. For the other parties, the election result should be a great incentive to be more convincing in the political competition.”