CDU candidate Herrgott narrowly won the elections in the Saale-Orla district. Are the nationwide demonstrations against right-wing extremism having an initial effect?

Nationwide protests could have influenced the outcome of the elections in the Saale-Orla district Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters

SEDAN taz | The situation was even until the end: when the counting began on Sunday at 6:00 p.m., Uwe Thrum, the AfD candidate, took the lead. In the first round of voting two weeks ago he had already obtained the highest percentage of votes: 45.7 percent. But since less than half voted for him, a second round was now necessary. Half an hour after counting began, the CDU's Christian Herrgott passed first Thrum and then him. Herrgott ultimately won with 52.4 percent. An advantage of 2,170 votes.

After the elections, the CDU politician appeared before the cameras. Herrgott stated in Schleizer's district office that his party had started the big election year in Thuringia well “in a very close race today.” Further local elections in Thuringia will take place in May, European elections in June and state elections in September. In the polls, the AfD leads in Thuringia with more than 30 percent.

During his brief speech on Sunday, Christian Herrgott was his usual self: sober and anything but exuberant. On the other hand, to his left, CDU state president Mario Voigt was evidently happy: “Together, in alliance with the citizens, we have the strength to defeat Höcke's supposed alternative.”

This was not so clear after the first round of voting. God only got 33.3 percent of the votes. The AfD has so far been quite successful in the Saale-Orla district: AfD candidates won direct seats in the 2019 state elections and in the 2021 federal elections. The district is considered a stronghold for Reich citizens listed together with the AfD in the “Free Thuringia” group.

Increased electoral participation, broad alliances

Regina Butz, who won 14.7 percent for the SPD, campaigned for Herrgott immediately after the first elections two weeks ago, and Ralf Kalich, the left-wing candidate, claimed after his departure that he was against an administrator of the AfD district with 6.9 percent to do. However, it was not very clear how much support Herrgott could expect from left-wing voters. During the election campaign, the CDU candidate campaigned, among other things: “Abolish citizens' money. Deport consistently. Prevent wind energy in the forest.”

In the end, that apparently deterred few people. In a local election, turnout was already above average in the first round, at 65.5 percent, and in the second it was even higher, at 68.6 percent. For comparison: in the last election six years ago, 33 percent of those eligible voted. Around 66,000 of the 79,000 inhabitants of the Saale-Orla district had the right to vote on Sunday.

The high voter turnout may have been contributed to by the fact that civil alliances in the Saale-Orla district mobilized to vote, as was the case in Nordhausen last September, when the AfD lost in the second round of the mayoral elections. . This time, several open letters in the district before the second round called on people to vote. An election call last weekend called for electing a district administrator who could solve “local problems without images of enemies.” Social organizations such as Diakonie, mayors, individuals and also the former district administrator, Thomas Fügmann (CDU), signed.

A second open letter was directed directly against Uwe Thrum and the AfD. The party “feeds a social atmosphere of exclusion, misanthropy and populism.” This call was prepared by the “Village Love for All” alliance. He also organized several demonstrations against the AfD. According to Ann-Sophie Bohm, state spokesperson for the Thuringian Greens, this contributed decisively to Herrgott's victory. However, his success “is not based on presenting himself as a copy of the AfD.”

Effects of the demonstrations at the national level?

Erfurt political scientist André Brodocz stated that Herrgott managed to regain ground in the second round of the election “can be considered the first effect of the nationwide demonstrations.” After research office Corrective As reported by a secret AfD meeting, hundreds of thousands of people are currently protesting in Germany against the party and against right-wing extremism. This could have caused many protest voters to change their minds, Brodocz suspected to the MDR after the election.

Björn Höcke, AfD state president in Thuringia, explained on Sunday afternoon that it took “opposition forces from all over the country” to turn the tide against AfD candidate Thrum. Even before the elections he suspected a “media hunt” against him. The AfD candidate aroused great interest throughout the country. The regional partnership in Thuringia is particularly extreme and particularly successful.

But despite the great interest in the elections, Uwe Thrum no longer wanted to face any debate. On Monday he had a discussion event. East Thuringian Newspaper cancelled. Anyone who wants to get a “pure image” can attend his rallies. But lately there have also been strong counter-protests against them.

AfD supporters were also at the district office on Sunday. According to media reports, they cheered Uwe Thrum and insulted the CDU politicians present. In his speech after the election, Herrgott also mentioned this as one of the main tasks he had to face as district administrator: bringing citizens back together. “I want to be a district administrator for all the people in this district,” Herrgott emphasized.