Sonneberg in Thuringia
AfD district administrator Stuhlmann passes the constitutional review
Robert Stuhlmann (AfD)
© Martin Schutt / DPA
The election of Robert Stuhlmann as the first AfD district administrator in Germany had caused outrage. Can a member of a party classified as right-wing extremist in Thuringia take on a top municipal office there? Now there is a decision.
After a review of his loyalty to the constitution, the AfD politician Robert Stuhlmann can remain district administrator in the southern Thuringian district of Sonneberg. In the case of Stuhlmann, “no concrete circumstances are currently seen that are of sufficient weight and objectively suitable to trigger serious concern about his future fulfillment of the duty of loyalty to the constitution,” said the Thuringian state administration office on Monday in Weimar.
On June 25, Stuhlmann was elected Germany’s first AfD district administrator, which caused some dismay among other parties. He accepted the election and started work as a district commissioner about a week ago.
The review had been started ex officio. The background is that the Thuringian AfD is classified and observed by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution as secured right-wing extremists. “This implies that (individual) members of the AfD state association in Thuringia are pursuing right-wing extremist efforts,” said the state administration office. According to this, it had to be checked in each individual case whether Stuhlmann “belongs to this group of AfD members”.
AfD: Testing process a “scandal” and “attack on democracy”
If that were the case, there would be doubts as to whether Stuhlmann, as district administrator, “will fulfill his special civil service duty of loyalty to the constitution”. “In our democracy, extremists cannot legally run for electoral office because they lack the basic characteristic of being democratically qualified,” said the state administration office in its statement. The review came to a different conclusion with Stuhlmann.
The AfD had previously called the test a scandal and an attack on democracy.
The basis for the individual assessment is the Thuringian local election law. In the public debate, there was also the question of whether a more in-depth review of Stuhlmann should have taken place before the election. The State Administration Office has now determined that “the electoral regulations regarding the determination of eligibility have been complied with”. A further test is not necessary.
After the electoral success in Sonneberg, a mayoral election won in Saxony-Anhalt and growth in poll numbers, the AfD sees itself on the upswing. In Thuringia, in an Infratest dimap survey commissioned by the MDR, it was 34 percent – and thus in first place. Accordingly, the parties in the current state coalition – Left, SPD and Greens – together came to almost the same percentage as the AfD alone. In Thuringia, a new state parliament is to be elected regularly next year.