According to its own advertising, the Gesellschaftshaus in Sonneberg is a “universally usable event location with a varied and interesting range of rooms”. It is equally suitable for concerts, theatre, conferences or gala evenings. This is where CDU right-wing extremist Hans-Georg Maassen campaigned for his candidacy for the Bundestag a good two years ago. Last summer, CDU leader Friedrich Merz supported the local CDU candidate for the mayoral election. The woman later went down against the non-party incumbent, and Maassen has haunted the Thuringian CDU as a kind of recalcitrant specter since losing his direct candidacy.
On Sunday evening, the counting of the runoff election for the post of district administrator will be broadcast in the Gesellschaftshaus, because there would not have been enough space in the district office due to the great media interest. At 5.30 p.m., a victorious AfD federal leadership appears, Tino Chrupalla and Stephan Brandner have come, of course only to say: “We are waiting humbly for the result”. But be prepared for all eventualities, whatever that means. Two hours later it is clear: the AfD has won a symbolic victory and is the first to provide a district administrator in Germany.
“And then we will prepare for the state elections in the East”
When the bar for AfD candidate Robert Stuhlmann stopped at 52.8 percent at 7:25 p.m., cheers erupted in the small hall. “Insane, that’s democracy,” yells an AfD supporter. Incumbent Jürgen Köpper (CDU), who was also supported by the Greens, SPD, Left Party and FDP in the runoff, came to 47.2 percent. Thuringia’s AfD boss Björn Höcke, formerly a history teacher in Hesse, spoke of a “political flash of lightning” emanating from Sonneberg. You want to take that momentum with you. “And then we’ll prepare for the state elections in the East, where we can really create a political earthquake.” In addition to local and European elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, there will also be state elections in 2024, in which the AfD calculates significant gains. The Thuringian state association is classified and observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a secured right-wing extremist.
Köpper described the outcome of the election as disappointing, saying that this was a bad day for the district of Sonneberg and Thuringia. In the first ballot two weeks ago, Stuhlmann had already won 46.7 percent of the votes, Köpper was eleven points behind. At that time, only 49.1 percent went to the polls, in the runoff on Sunday it was significantly more with 59.6 percent. However, not only Köpper benefited from this, but also Stuhlmann got more votes than in the first ballot.
All sorts of topics that do not play a role in the area of responsibility of a district administrator
The election campaign – at least for the AfD – hardly dealt with regional issues. In a duel with the other applicants before the first round of voting, Stuhlmann said they didn’t want “Germany to become the world welfare office.” He called for the deportation of criminal asylum seekers and cuts in benefits for everyone, peace negotiations with Russia and an end to the sanctions policy. In Thuringia’s smallest constituency, the AfD placarded slogans such as “Our country, our rules”, “Reduce VAT”, “Secure borders!”, “Diesel is great!” or “Because our women are not fair game” – topics that do not play a role in the area of responsibility of a district administrator.
Rather, the first official in a district is responsible for schools and the health department, combating animal diseases and financing the hospital society. Until recently, incumbent Jürgen Köpper from the CDU had tried to emphasize this during the election campaign. Köpper was officially supported by the SPD, Greens, FDP and even the Left Party. More than 70 celebrities – from the district administrators from the neighboring districts, managing directors from the glass industry to school directors and the district fire brigade association – publicly spoke out in favor of the 57-year-old. The CDU district association printed its own new motifs to explain to voters what a district administrator does (“ensures a functioning district, secures the medical facilities, helps the clubs and the voluntary fire brigades, modernizes the school buildings or roads”) and what not (“Can neither abolish the GEZ fees nor change the heating plans”).
Many now fear that the 55,000-inhabitant district will be damaged if it is led by an AfD man. Sonneberg is part of the metropolitan region of Nuremberg, and after the first round of voting, the tourist office said people were canceling their vacations. Entrepreneurs also fear permanent damage to their image. Sonneberg is the center of the glass and toy industry, unemployment is 5.1 percent, and here too many companies are desperately looking for skilled workers and workers.
What will become of the firewall?
However, even a district administrator cannot govern alone, for the implementation of his plans he is dependent on the district council, where the AfD in Sonneberg currently has nine out of 40 MPs. Stuhlmann, who did not want to give any interviews before the runoff and only with boys freedom spoke, announced there in the event of his election: “Then the main and the honorary deputy (both CDU) must work with me. Otherwise this would be punished as a refusal to work with consequences under labor law”. This is particularly bitter for the defeated Köpper: he is the first deputy, had only represented the previously ill District Administrator Hans-Peter Schmitz and would have to – if he does not give up his office – in future serve under a District Administrator Stuhlmann.
His CDU should also face considerable problems. Party leader Friedrich Merz has repeatedly emphasized that the firewall to the CDU stands. His sentence to the state associations “especially in the east” from late autumn 2021 has long been winged: “If any of us raises our hand to work with the AfD, then there will be a party exclusion procedure the next day.” However, this announcement did not prevent the CDU from voting together with the AfD against gender language in the Thuringian state parliament. In Sonneberg, she is now faced with the question of whether her deputies have to work with a district administrator from the AfD and what the consequences would be for the district if the CDU faction in the district council refused to approve important projects. If she doesn’t do that, “then there’s no argument against working with us as the AfD at the state and federal level,” says Stuhlmann.
What’s next in Sonneberg? On Wednesday, 11 a.m., the election committee meets in public in the district office and determines the official final result. According to the Thuringian local election law, the election officer then notifies the elected person in writing and asks him to declare within a week whether he accepts the election. The next highlight in the Gesellschaftshaus has already been decided: Gregor Gysi has announced that he will read from his book on October 6th, entitled: “What politicians don’t say”.