The German Association of Cities has reacted with concern to the victory of the AfD candidate in the mayoral election in Pirna. "The citizens of Pirna have decided. That is democracy, but the result is very worrying for us at the German Association of Cities. Because it shows that a rift is running through our society in many places at a time when we need more cohesion and joint commitment in order to master the changes and challenges we are facing," explained President Markus Lewe in Berlin on Monday.
On Sunday, Tim Lochner became the first AfD candidate to win a mayoral election in Germany. The 53-year-old beat CDU candidate Kathrin Dollinger-Knuth and the independent Ralf Thiele, who ran for the Free Voters, in the second round of voting. Lochner himself is also independent and, by his own admission, does not want to join the AfD. The AfD state association in Saxony was recently classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a secure right-wing extremist organization.
