After runoff
AfD success in Sonneberg: What does a district administrator actually do?
AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla (r.) and the Thuringian state party leader Björn Höcke celebrate Robert Stuhlmann (centre) for winning the post of district administrator. 52.8 percent of voters in the district of Sonneberg voted for the right-wing extremist party’s candidate.
© Martin Schutt / DPA
Robert Stuhlmann is the first district administrator of the AfD in Germany and is now head of the district administration in Sonneberg in southern Thuringia. He can do that in his office.
He is elected for six years. The AfD politician Robert Stuhlmann is the first district administrator of the party in Germany, which has been rated as right-wing extremist by the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The horror of the vote of the voters in the district of Sonneberg in southern Thuringia is great in many places – the success of the AfD is seen by the political competition and parts of civil society as a devastating signal. However, Stuhlmann’s political influence should remain manageable, as a look at the tasks of a district administrator shows.
What is a district administrator?
The district administrator heads the district administration for a limited time, in Thuringia he is elected for six years. As such, he is responsible for ensuring that his authority implements the decisions of the district council. Federal or state law must also be implemented by county government. The tasks of the district administrator in Thuringia are determined by the municipal and district regulations of the Free State. It is clear afterwards: The district administrator cannot govern as he sees fit, but is bound in his work by law and order – also and above all by the Basic Law.
What is the responsibility of the district of Sonneberg?
Typically, district administrators perform a range of public duties, most of which are delegated duties. In the district of Sonneberg, these include:
- School management and school development planning
- rescue service
- Transportation
- waste management/waste disposal
- tourism
- county roads
- local fire protection
Who controls the governor?
In addition to the district council, which in Thuringia can initiate the voting out of the district administrator with a two-thirds majority, the local supervisory authority of the Thuringian state administration office checks the legality of the district administrator’s work.
How much creative freedom does Robert Stuhlmann have?
Few. The office of district administrator is more like that of a managing director. “He runs an administration,” said Thuringia’s Prime Minister Bode Ramelow (left). He will not be able to tackle the issues with which the AfD man went into the election campaign at district level (e.g. peace negotiations, border closures, exit from the euro). Influencing the actions of the district administration.
Sources: State Administration Office Thuringia, Thuringian municipal and district regulations, District of SonnebergDPA news agency