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German stars call on voters to shun far-right AfD in ‘Görliwood’

Film stars and authors are leading a call for a small town dubbed "Görliwood" to shun the far-right in mayoral elections next week.

Published: 7 June 2019 13:33 CEST
German stars call on voters to shun far-right AfD in 'Görliwood'
Daniel Brühl is one of the stars calling for Görlitz to shun the far-right. Photo: DPA

On the border with Poland, the quaint little town of Görlitz has become the backdrop of many Hollywood blockbusters including “Inglorious Bastards” and “The Grand Budapest Hotel”.

It holds a second round run-off vote for a new mayor later this month, after a first vote was topped by the candidate from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Alarmed that the town could become the first in Germany with an AfD mayor, actors including Daniel Brühl and Volker Bruch, plus writers like Daniel Kehlmann and Bernhard Schlink have signed a petition urging voters in Görlitz: “Don't give in to hate and hostility, conflict and exclusion.”

READ ALSO: Eastern German town of Görlitz named the best filming location in Europe

Volker Bruch who starred in Babylon Berlin was also part of the call. Photo: DPA

“Please vote wisely… Don't betray your convictions the moment someone claims to be able to solve problems for you,” according to the appeal that is to be officially published on Monday.

SEE ALSO: Meet the East German Greens candidate offering another alternative

As The Local reported, in mayoral elections held on May 26th, the AfD candidate Sebastian Wippel, 36, took 36.4 percent of the vote. He was followed by Christian Democratic (CDU) candidate Octavian Ursu, 51, who won 30.3 percent of the vote.

Green Party candidate Franziska Schubert, 37, came in third place with 27.9 percent of the vote.

The picturesque town has been featured in several movies. Photo: DPA

However, because none of the candidates won an absolute majority, there will be another round of elections on June 16th. On May 26th, 58.6 percent of the city's 56,000 residents voted.

Political rift

The results show a political rift in the population. The far-right populists in Görlitz won 32.9 percent of the votes in the Bundestag (parliamentary) elections in 2017 and were 6 percentage points ahead of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Görlitz, Germany's most eastern town, has seen a mass exodus – like many others in the former communist East – as people sought higher wages in western regions.

Spared damage by Allied bombing during World War II, the Old Town's eye-catching medieval architecture draws a steady stream of visitors, some hoping to catch a glimpse of Hollywood stars in action.

But like in other towns in the state of Saxony, the anti-migrant AfD party has gained a strong footing in Görlitz, manging to woo over voters.

Alice Weidel, leader of the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag takes a selfie during the election campaign in Görlitz. Photo: DPA

Railing against Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to let in more than a million asylum seekers, the AfD took nearly 13 percent of the vote overall in the federal elections, becoming Germany's biggest opposition party.

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POLITICS

ANALYSIS: What’s at stake in Germany’s eastern state elections?

After success in Thuringia and Saxony, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) may well come in first in another eastern state election this Sunday. We spoke with a political scientist to analyse what's at stake as Brandenburg goes to the polls.

Published: 19 September 2024 09:11 CEST
ANALYSIS: What's at stake in Germany's eastern state elections?

German politics’ “eastern September” is set to finally end Sunday – with more ruminations and reflections likely to come about the recent fortunes of the far-right AfD at the ballot box.

If current polls are anything to go by, the AfD could come in first in the eastern state encircling Berlin – which counts Potsdam as its capital.

After overtaking the governing Social Democrats (SPD) in a recent shock poll, the party is currently at around 28 percent, compared to the SPD on 25 percent. The centre-right Christian Democrats come in at 16 percent in the latest poll and the left-populist Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) – named after its founder – charts in at 14 percent.

The remaining parties come in much lower – with the Greens, Left and liberal Free Democrats all facing possible ejection from the state parliament.

Another victory for the AfD – or even a strong showing should the SPD still manage a narrow surprise win – will certainly boost the far-right’s confidence, after it came in first in Thuringia and second in Saxony earlier this month, following state elections that saw all three of Germany’s federally governing parties take massive losses.

Thuringia and Saxony results will likely hang over Brandenburg on Sunday – with Germany’s governing parties, many everyday Germans, and foreigners all watching with some trepidation. Here’s what to watch out for following the Brandenburg result.

READ ALSO: ‘Political earthquake’ – What the far-right AfD state election win means for Germany 

A newly confident AfD insists it must be part of government

The AfD has repeatedly argued that it must be considered as a possible coalition partner to join German governments – whether at the federal, state, or local level. 

“There are no politics without the AfD,” its co-leader Tino Chrupalla said following the Thuringia results. However, all other parties have explicitly refused to work with the AfD to form a governing coalition – meaning that as high as its results this month have been, they fall well short of the absolute majority that would be required to govern alone.

READ ALSO: ‘We need change’: Germany’s far-right eyes power after state election win

However, its getting more difficult to form coalitions to keep the AfD out, with the centre-right CDU in Thuringia even open to governing with the leftwing populist BSW after mainstream parties like the Greens and FDP were thrown out of state parliament entirely.

University of Mainz political scientist Kai Arzheimer, who specialises in the German far-right, says whether the far-right ever get into a German government or not depends mostly on whether – and how – the CDU is willing to work with the AfD.

Thuringia election results on a screen

People watch the first exit polls results for Thuringia’s state elections come in at the State Parliament in Erfurt on September 1st, 2024. Photo by Joerg CARSTENSEN / AFP

“For the time being, it should be able to form coalitions against the AfD, even if they are rather awkward,” says Arzheimer, who adds that even the different regional chapters of the CDU may have different opinions about working with the AfD.

“Within the eastern state parties of both the CDU and the FDP, there seems to be some appetite for coming to an arrangement with the AfD. While a formal coalition would probably split either party, we have already seen some tentative moves towards an informal cooperation.”

Ultimately, the Brandmauer or “firewall” concept in German politics – in which all other parties refuse to work with the AfD – may end up coming under increasing stress on the back of eastern state election results, where governing with the far-right no longer becomes unthinkable.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Could the far-right AfD ever take power in Germany?

What the mainstream parties take from eastern election results

It’s probably no coincidence that Germany’s ruling government decided to re-institute border controls at its land borders with other EU states shortly after the AfD topped the Thuringia state poll, according to Arzheimer, who says the elections are just the latest in a number of things at work when if comes to Germany’s migration debate.

“The border controls, the plans for the stricter enforcement of repatriation orders, and most of all the government’s harsher rhetoric are as much a reaction to Saxony and Thuringia as they are an attempt to control the fallout from the Solingen knife attack and a response to the whole ‘debate’ on immigration,” he says.

“Many experts seem to agree that they are neither practical nor that useful, and introducing them more or less overnight smacks of a degree of panic.”

READ ALSO: Should foreign residents in Germany be concerned about far-right AfD win?

Polls conducted following the election found that migration and internal security issues were big drivers of the AfD vote – despite these being issues for the national, rather than regional, government. 

Of the AfD voters in Thuringia, more than 70 percent said either migration or crime and internal security played the largest role in influencing their vote. Slightly less than ten percent said social security. Despite the AfD’s pro-Russian views, only three percent of AfD voters in Thuringia said Germany’s support of Ukraine decisively influenced their votes.

Besides the mainstream parties like the SPD reacting with spur-of-the-moment migration policies, the Brandenburg result may end up putting pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz from within his own SPD.

Brandenburg SPD’s Dietmar Woidke may still be able to hold onto the premiership, but he has said he will resign if he doesn’t beat the AfD outright. Should he lose, calls may grow louder within the SPD for Scholz to resign himself – or at least declare that he won’t stand as a chancellor candidate again.

READ ALSO: How an explosive row over immigration has divided Germany

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