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🇩🇪 Germany /Elections & Politics

AfD gains its first mayor in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency New plan
  • Ziesendorf Mayor Thomas Witt said he has joined the AfD, making him the first mayor with an AfD membership in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, according to state party leader Leif-Erik Holm.
  • Witt said he began considering the move after the AfD and CDU helped block a planned 125-place refugee shelter in the municipality.
  • AfD district leader Hans-Werner Moltzen said Ziesendorf lacked the infrastructure for the shelter and that existing facilities in Rostock district were underused.

Thomas Witt, the previously non-party mayor of Ziesendorf in Rostock district, has joined the AfD. The move makes him the first mayor with an AfD party card in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, state party leader Leif-Erik Holm said at a campaign event in Schwerin.

Witt said he began considering membership after the AfD and CDU helped stop plans last year to establish a refugee shelter in a disused drinks factory in Ziesendorf. The proposed facility would have provided 125 places.

The mayor said he had previously failed to make headway with his criticism of the plan. Ziesendorf has about 1,400 residents, according to Witt.

Hans-Werner Moltzen, chairman of the AfD parliamentary group in the district council, said the municipality lacked the infrastructure needed for a refugee shelter. He also argued that existing accommodation in Rostock district was not fully occupied, making the Ziesendorf facility unnecessary.

About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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