AfD candidate wins mayoral election in Germany for the first time
AfD appoints mayor for the first time
An AfD candidate has won a mayoral election in Germany for the first time. Tim Lochner (53) prevailed in the second round of voting in Pirna, Saxony, against two opponents from the CDU and the Free Voters. Lochner himself is independent of a party, but ran for the AfD.
According to the preliminary results, the AfD candidate Tim Lochner prevailed against two competitors in the second round of the election of the new city leader in Pirna, Saxony. Lochner received 38.54 percent of the votes and thus the necessary simple majority.
EThe AfD candidate has won a mayoral election in Germany for the first time. Tim Lochner (53) prevailed in the second round of voting on Sunday in Pirna, Saxony, against two opponents from the CDU and the Free Voters. Lochner himself is independent of a party, but ran for the AfD. According to the provisional results, he received 38.5 percent of the votes, like the city in the evening announced on their website. Behind them are Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth (CDU) with 31.4 percent and the independent Ralf Thiele with 30.1 percent. He entered the race for the Free Voters. Lochner and Thiele were also former CDU members. Voter turnout was 53.8 percent – slightly higher than in the first round (50.4).
Lochner thanked his supporters after the election and declared on Sunday evening: “I promise I will see through the seven years.” He wants to tackle the things that come his way with “calm and calm.”
Lochner – a carpenter and restorer by profession – had already dominated the first round of voting on November 26th. At that time he received 32.9 percent of the votes and was ahead of Thiele (23.2 percent) and Dollinger-Knuth (20.3). The independent candidate André Liebscher (13.7) and Ralf Wätzig (SPD, supported by the Greens, almost ten percent) did not run in the second round and supported the CDU candidate Dollinger-Knuth. Lochner is the successor to Klaus-Peter Hanke (independent), who no longer stood for mayoral election.
After the election, AfD federal leader Alice Weidel wrote on Platform X (formerly Twitter): “Congratulations to Pirna! AfD candidate Tim Lochner was elected the first AfD mayor there, far ahead of his competitors. Thanks to the many voters who made this historic result possible for the AfD!”
The defeated candidate Dollinger-Knuth addressed her supporters that evening. She was also supported by the SPD, the Greens and the Left in the second round of voting. “Although we have gathered almost all forces behind our political offer, the voters have decided otherwise. “Unfortunately, the Free Voters decided to carry on alone, paving the way for AfD success,” she said. Both have to be accepted. “We in the city council will support the work of the elected mayor in a critical and constructive manner, always keeping the well-being of Pirna in mind.”
Before Pirna, AfD candidates had already won two important local political offices in Germany. In June, the AfD won a district election for the first time – with Robert Sesselmann in the Sonneberg district in Thuringia. In August, Hannes Loth was elected as the country’s first mayor of a German municipality – in Raguhn-Jeßnitz (Saxony-Anhalt).
The Saxon Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the AfD as a right-wing extremist
The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Saxony recently classified the Saxon AfD as a confirmed right-wing extremist effort. After his election on Sunday evening, Lochner answered the question whether he had a problem with moving to the town hall for the AfD after his election on Sunday evening. When asked about his previous statements about a “population exchange” – a conspiracy narrative widespread in right-wing circles – Lochner emphasized that he said this as a private person. He added: “If we have 38 percent of foreigners in primary schools and daycare centers in certain parts of the city, then for me that is already an exchange of the local population.”
Voting at a polling station in a primary school in Pirna
Source: dpa/Sebastian Kahnert
Lochner has been sitting on the city council of the city in Saxon Switzerland, which has around 40,000 inhabitants, for years. He had already taken part in the mayoral election in Pirna in 2017, but at the time he was left behind with 32.9 percent of the vote against incumbent Hanke. Contact with the AfD came about through the city council faction, said the master carpenter when asked before his election as mayor. “I was approached, it worked, and I was chosen unanimously.” However, Lochner rules out membership in the AfD. “I was previously a member of the CDU but returned the party register. Now I don’t want to be a party member anymore.”
AfD state leader Jörg Urban spoke of a “steep template” for next year’s elections. In the state elections in September, the AfD wants to reach the 40 percent mark, said Urban. The mayoral election in Pirna shows “that it can be done”.
According to his own statement, Lochner first wants to get to know all the employees in the town hall. “Because a trusting, loyal collaboration means that they know what to expect from me and, conversely, I from them,” said Lochner to the German Press Agency. He also believes that citizen-oriented and efficient administration is very important to him. “I will therefore examine to what extent the significant increase in staff in the town hall from 199 to the current 240 employees will make a measurable contribution to this.” He wants to “cultivate a transparent, open style with clear, results-oriented leadership”.