Stephen Kramer
President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Election of the AfD District Administrator “Clap with announcement”
Stefan Kramer has been President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2015. Under his leadership, the Thuringian AfD was classified as right-wing extremist in March 2021
© Karina Hessland / Imago Images
Robert Stuhlmann was the first AfD politician to be elected district administrator in the Thuringian district of Sonneberg. That’s no surprise, says the local president for the protection of the constitution, Stefan Kramer. But the other parties did not hear the warning shot.
For a good two years now, the AfD state association in Thuringia, led by Björn Höcke, has been considered a right-wing extremist. The classification came from the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which monitors the party. On Sunday, Robert Stuhlmann, the first AfD candidate, was elected to the post of district administrator.
After the election in the district of Sonneberg, the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stefan Kramer, spoke to NDR Info. He speaks of a “slap with an announcement”: “It was foreseeable for a long time where the journey was going. It had to happen at some point. It’s unfortunate that Thuringia is now leading the way with this district election.” Nevertheless, he has the impression that the other parties have not yet heard the “wake-up call”.
Federal political issues decisive for the election in Sonneberg
With 52.8 percent Stuhlmann was elected district administrator in Sonneberg. 47.2 percent went to the CDU counter-candidate Jürgen Köpper, with a turnout of less than 60 percent.
With the result, one must distinguish between the voters and the members of the AfD, so Head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution Stefan Kramer at NDR Info: “The members of the party know what the party stands for. That’s why they’re members, that’s why they are right-wing extremists.” For the voters, on the other hand, a colorful mixture of anger, frustration, disappointment and fear was decisive. That’s why Kramer still has hope: “We are at about 20 percent brown sediment in the Federal Republic. If you now see that 53 percent have voted for the AfD, then there is still a margin in between that can still be achieved.”
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In the election campaign, Stuhlmann had primarily advertised with federal political issues: combustion fuels, the heating law or migration. That was decisive in the election, believes the head of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution. “This is about a clear warning signal: outrage and reminders in the direction of Berlin.” According to Kramer, many people no longer feel that they are heard, which is why the work of the AfD is met with a positive response.
East Germany will vote next year. In addition to the European and local elections, there will also be state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in 2024. With this in mind, Stefan Kramer asks the big question: “Will the result in Sonneberg become a trend or was it a one-off slip-up?”
Sources: NDRinformation from news agencies