The "political damage" of the SPD-AfD alliance

Anyone who clicks on “local association” on the SPD Hildburghausen website these days sees a yawning emptiness. With the exception of one assessor, the board says: nothing. That's for a reason. The Social Democrats in the small Thuringian town are in dissolution, the leadership resigned “closely” and “with immediate effect” in mid-January – in protest. The top representatives of the local association feel patronized by the state headquarters in Erfurt.

The dispute revolves around the continued cooperation between the Social Democrats and the Alternative for Germany in the local parliament of Hildburghausen. In the summer of 2020, the SPD participated in three press releases that were also coordinated with the AfD. It was about typical local matters such as the use of the crèche and the redesign of the outdoor pool.

The leadership of the Thuringian SPD met the Hildburghausen comrades for a clarifying discussion. The state office said after the "result" of the conversation that the cooperation was a "mistake", there was no cooperation between the SPD and AfD.

But even then it was unclear whether the local association saw it the same way. Ralf Bumann, SPD parliamentary group leader in the city council, did not respond to a specific request. In the MDR, however, he complained about his party's Erfurt headquarters that factual issues "no longer played a role", but only the question: "How can the SPD work here together with the AfD?"

Incidentally, he has known the people “for umpteen years, they are neighbors, they are in the sports club. I don't see any point of attack with that either.” That didn't necessarily sound like the Erfurt description of the insight into a mistake.

Last year, the dispute popped up again – and more violently than ever. In mid-December, the local parliament decided with 17 yes votes to let the population decide whether the mayor Tilo Kummer, who was nominated by the left, should be voted out of office. The mayor was only supported by the six people in his party on the city council.

All others voted for an early end to Kummer's term of office. Among them were the five MPs from the AfD, which in Thuringia is observed in its entirety as "safe right-wing extremist" by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, and the representative of Bündnis Zukunft Hildburghausen (BHZ). This was founded by the nationally known right-wing extremist Tommy Frenck in 2009.

The impetus came from the public. Around 1000 Hildburghauseners demanded in a signature campaign that local politics should become active if Kummer did not resign of his own accord. He himself refused. So the city council acted – with the participation of the SPD, which was aware that the necessary two-thirds majority to start the deselection process could only be achieved with the votes of right-wing extremists. The then three Social Democrats justified their approval with the “greater involvement of the citizens” in political processes, which their party also repeatedly called for.

SPD state chairman Georg Maier criticized the actions of the comrades because the weakening of the firewall against the right is damaging to democracy. His objection was probably formulated so sharply because the Social Democrats in the state parliament are coalitioning with the left in a minority government and have repeatedly warned the CDU against making pacts with the AfD around the ethnic-national faction leader Björn Höcke.

But the comrades in the small town would not be persuaded. Instead, the executive board resigned in mid-January on the grounds that “the demands and instructions” of Maier were incompatible with “the grass-roots democracy that is practiced”, as stated in a statement.

The SPD city councilors Ralf and Michael Bumann, father and son, said they decided to take the step to give the members "the opportunity to determine the future orientation of the local association in a democratic election process". However, one city councilor already gave back her SPD party book. Both Bumanns did not want to talk to WELT about the topic or answer questions in writing.

At the end of February, the citizens voted. 1,390 Hildburghausen residents voted in favor of Kummer, and 2,853 voted against his remaining in office. The quorum of 30 percent - based on the total of 9338 eligible voters in the city - was just barely reached. Kummer immediately declared that he would follow the will of the majority of the residents to have him voted out. Various permanent problems with the outdoor pool, fire brigade and municipal childcare were blamed on him, but above all bad communication and obstinacy.

Due to the majority in the local parliament, the mayor had no formal alliance behind him, he had to look for partners for individual projects. Kummer speaks of a "mud fight" and a lack of will on the part of the Social Democrats to cooperate.

As early as the summer of 2020, Kummer said: "What happened there is absurd and all the more painful because the SPD supported my candidacy." The local branch of the Social Democrats, in turn, declared at the beginning of December that the left-wing politician had "ignored" offers from the SPD. ; “many others” would have had the same experience.

SPD country chief Maier said at the request of WELT: "I regret Kummer's deselection." The two city councilors "did great political damage to the region beyond". Joint action with right-wing extremists is "not compatible with the basic anti-fascist values ​​of our party". The Thuringian Minister of the Interior also did not accept the comrades' argument for more citizen participation. "The democratic legitimacy of voting out is low given the low turnout."

According to Maier, the state executive decided "with a large majority" - so there are obviously other positions on the process - to initiate internal regulatory proceedings against the two Social Democrats, which could theoretically end with their expulsion from the party.

Mario Czaja, Secretary General of the federal CDU, certified the SPD a "double dam breach". On Twitter he said: "The SPD not only agrees with the AfD, but even with neo-Nazis!"

The Christian Democrats in Hildburghausen are clearly holding back. The parliamentary group split up in 2020, just like the SPD is doing now. Kristin Obst is the only Christian Democrat on the city council. She announced on social media that she was running for mayor – she did not respond to a WELT request.

It is unclear whether she is supported by the local CDU. The head of the district association, Christopher Other, also did not respond to a request. Other had replaced Obst in 2020 after a long power struggle as chairman of the district association. It looks like further Zoff in Hildburghausen.

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