Stefan Hartung Reaches Runoff in 19,000-Person German Town as Neo-Nazi Taboo Erodes
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7
Stefan Hartung Reaches Runoff in 19,000-Person German Town as Neo-Nazi Taboo Erodes
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 7
Summary
Stefan Hartung, a member of a neo-Nazi-linked party, advanced to Sunday’s mayoral runoff in Aue-Bad Schlema after leading the first round in May.
The result puts a candidate from a party Germany’s domestic intelligence agency classifies as extremist closer than any such figure has come to being directly elected mayor since World War II.
Hartung denies being a neo-Nazi, but he remains a member of another far-right party that Germany’s highest court has said is similar in nature to National Socialism.
The contest in the eastern town of 19,000 has drawn national attention as evidence that support for the far right is becoming less taboo in Germany.
That shift extends beyond one town: AfD now leads national polls and is projected to win two state elections this fall.
As a party linked to Nazism seeks power, is Germany's 75-year democratic consensus about to break?
Why are German workers backing a far-right party whose economic plan could be their own undoing?
The 2026 Aue-Bad Schlema Mayoral Runoff: A Historic Break in Germany’s Firewall Against the Far Right
Overview
The advancement of Stefan Hartung, a far-right extremist, to the mayoral runoff in Aue-Bad Schlema marks a historic break in German politics, signaling a major erosion of the long-standing taboo against electing such figures. This event is not just a local anomaly but reflects a broader national trend, with right-wing extremism and populism already more apparent in eastern Germany and expected to spread westward over time. Hartung’s rise highlights a profound shift in political norms, illustrating how developments in the East may foreshadow similar changes across the country.