In the district elections for Hildburghausen in Thuringia, neo-Nazi Tommy Frenck came second in the second election and thus reached the second election. More than 8,000 people voted for the right-wing extremist politician, which corresponds to about 25 percent.
That AfDCandidates who perform strongly in district elections in East Germany are no longer a novelty. Last year Robert Sesselmann even won the elections in the Thuringian district of Sonneberg. What is even more worrying is that a neo-Nazi known throughout Germany is approaching a second election.
Frenck organizes right-wing rock festivals and uses Nazi codes
Frenck openly flaunts his connection with National Socialism: he runs an inn in the village of Kloster Veßra, a kind of pilgrimage site for the right-wing scene. A black, red and white Reich flag flies in front of the restaurant and the dishes on the menu cost, for example, 8.88 or 18.88 euros – codes that refer to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi slogan “Heil Hitler”.
Frenck is also known nationally for the right-wing rock festivals that he organizes. He also runs an online store where you can buy mascots from the Ku Klux Klan, among other things. Embroidered on Frenck’s neck a tattoo with the letters “Aryan” – Aryans.
How come such a person gets the opportunity to become a district administrator? On the one hand, this has to do with the fact that Frenck is openly right-wing extremist, but also as a “regional politician, entrepreneur, innkeeper and benefactor” with roots in the region. The Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution describes Frenck’s strategy as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Frenck had no competition from the AfD
On the other hand, Frenck’s electoral success is due to the absence of the AfD. In Hildburghausen she was unable to field a candidate for the district elections. In addition to Frenck, independent Kristin Obst and Dirk Lindner ran for office CDU and Sven Gregor of the Free Voters – the latter won the first round of elections with about 42 percent and will face Frenck in the second round.
Frenck’s success shows that a significant portion of people who might have voted for the AfD were apparently willing to vote for a neo-Nazi. However, Frenck apparently also has a strong support base: when he participated in the 2018 district elections, he already achieved almost 17 percent.
So you could have been warned. Yet Frenck’s candidacy was not prevented. That would have been possible. The Thuringian local election law states that you cannot be elected as a district administrator “if you do not guarantee that you will always stand up for the free, democratic basic order within the meaning of the Basic Law and the State Constitution”.
Should Frenck have been allowed to participate at all?
With Frenck this is doubtful. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution states that Frenck’s voting group “Bündnis Zukunft Hildburghausen” (BZH) “has developed into the leading neo-Nazi group in the Hildburghausen district.” Information from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution was also made available to the election commission, which had to decide on Frenck’s candidacy – albeit at very short notice before the vote.
In the decisive vote, the district official and two representatives of the CDU still spoke in favor of Frenck’s approval. Two committee members voted against. Two things could have led to the outcome: First, Frenck was personally present at the vote, which could have had an intimidating effect.
On the other hand, there may have been fear of legal consequences. If Frenck had been excluded from the start, he could have appealed the decision. In the worst case, the elections would have had to be repeated.
The question of whether Frenck is eligible is not yet off the table. If he actually wins the runoff election, the state board could reexamine his eligibility. This was also the case when AfD candidate Sesselmann was elected in Sonneberg last year.