extremism
Right-wing extremist candidate for mayoral election in Wittstock
Königstrasse leading to Wittstock town hall. photo
© Soeren Stache/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
The mayoral election in Wittstock in the fall is keeping the constitutional protection busy. The security authorities have known a candidate and his right-wing extremist sentiments for years.
Ludwig, who runs a tattoo studio in Wittstock, was a co-founder of the neo-Nazi group “Weiße Wölfe Terrorcrew”, which was banned in 2016. After an analysis by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the violent group wanted to set up a political system based on National Socialism. There was also a raid in Wittstock at the time. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution announced: “After his release from prison, Ludwig is still involved and active in the right-wing extremist scene in the region.”
A total of four candidates are admitted to the election for the mayoral office in the city of around 15,000 inhabitants on September 24: Philipp Wacker for the CDU/free voters’ community, Ralf-Thomas Schulz from the SPD and as individual applicants Karsten Simon and Ludwig. A full-time mayor or mayor is a temporary civil servant and is elected for eight years.
47 signatures
The city of Wittstock announced that Ludwig had met the requirements for admission to the election. Among other things, according to the administration, he had submitted 47 supporter signatures, 44 were required. In addition, each candidate must swear in lieu of an oath that they are not excluded from eligibility under the Brandenburg Local Elections Act (Section 65, Paragraph 3 of the Act on Local Elections in the State of Brandenburg). The “Märkische Allgemeine” had previously reported and shown a photo showing all four mayoral candidates side by side.
The chairman of the Brandenburg action alliance against violence, extremism and racism, Thomas Wisch, said in a statement that it was quite alarming “that Ludwig obviously feels so safe that he dares to make this leap into the public eye”. He hopes that Ludwig will experience a lot of headwind. It is important to “stand up to him everywhere”. The other candidates and, last but not least, civil society are also asked. The spokesman for the alliance “Wittstock shows its colors”, Matthias Puppe, told the dpa: “It is an attempt by the right-wing extremists to make themselves socially acceptable here. I find that threatening.”
Proven right-wing extremist
The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Müller, sees no doubts about Ludwig’s right-wing extremist sentiments. “Free elections are a fundamental right of our democracy in our country.” It is up to the citizens of our country to evaluate political candidacies. But Ludwig is “clearly a proven right-wing extremist,” said Müller. In the region, he is seen as a networker and leading figure in the right-wing scene. “The prison sentence didn’t change his right-wing extremist attitude.”
According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Ludwig was a steward at a rally organized by the right-wing extremist micro-party The Third Way. “Whether his candidacy for the Wittstock mayoral election in connection with the founding of the Brandenburg state association of the right-wing extremist micro-party “Der III. way” is currently open,” said the head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Ludwig, who was born in 1981, said on Thursday: “I see myself as a nationalist, as a proud German who still cares about his country (…). I don’t go out and beat up foreigners. I also get along great with a lot of foreigners .” He named “mass immigration, security for the city and prospects for young people” as topics in his election campaign.