Berlin-Pankow
Was a left district mayor elected with AfD votes? The greens growl
Sören Benn, old and new mayor of Pankow. The AfD claims that the left-wing politician was elected mayor with the votes of the AfD.
© Christoph Soeder / DPA
29 of the 55 district councilors have confirmed the mayor of Pankow, Sören Benn, in office. But the support parties only have 23 votes and the AfD says they voted for him too. Now criticism is loud.
The election of the district mayor of Berlin-Pankow, Sören Benn (left), possibly with AfD votes, is causing criticism. “We voted for Benn – in terms of personal qualifications,” said the AfD parliamentary group leader of the Pankow district council assembly, Daniel Krüger, of the “Berliner Morgenpost”. The party has five votes in the district parliament.
Benn has been mayor of the Berlin district since 2016 and was again proposed as a candidate by the left and the SPD. 29 of the 55 district councilors voted for Benn, 24 against him, and two abstained. The Left and the SPD together have 23 votes, which means that six votes must have come from other parties.
Winner of election with own candidate
The choice was secret. The Greens and FDP had previously announced that they would vote against the left-wing politician. The CDU wanted to abstain. The Greens also had their own candidate because they got the most votes in the election for the district assembly before the left.
The Pankow local association of the left countered the speculation about the possible election with AfD votes. There is nothing to suggest “why a party that has fascists in its ranks should give political support to a democratic far left”.
The (in) finite story of the AfD candidates for the Bundestag Presidium
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The election of the left-wing politician nevertheless caused a lot of criticism. “If you lose the election, you don’t let the right-wing extremists help you into office,” said Greens federal manager Michael Kellner.
“It was not our votes that voted Benn mayor – and those of the CDU probably not either,” said the chairwoman of the Pankow FDP, Daniela Kluckert. The Left and the SPD have made themselves and Pankow “the AfD’s plaything”.