A German village elected a neo-Nazi as mayor. Now they want a reversal

Stefan Jagsch stands in front of the community house in the Altenstadt-Waldsiedlung, a part of the village of Altenstadt, near Frankfurt. Photo / AP

The decision of a small village in southwestern Germany to elect a candidate from a neo-Nazi party as mayor has sparked national outrage and soul searching, with efforts to reverse the decision underway.

Stefan Jagsch, a member of the ultranationalist National Democratic Party (NPD), which German authorities have tried to ban several times, ran unopposed to become leader of the local council in the village of Walsiedlung in Hesse.

He was voted in unanimously last week by other council members, including representatives of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats and her coalition partner the centre-left Social Democrats.

One local council member from Merkel's party told a local broadcaster that his ability to send emails was more important than his party affiliation. In the village of just 2600 residents, other candidates had not been forthcoming.

News of the decision quickly flung the village near Frankfurt into the national spotlight, drawing.widespread outrage and condemnation from regional and national branches of the parties whose local representatives had supported the candidate.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Merkel's successor as head of the Christian Democrats, said it would investigate how members had backed Jagsch, calling for him to be deselected.

"We learned about this decision one day after the election with horror and absolute incomprehension," the district level office for the Christian Democrats said in a statement.
"We are decisively disassociating ourselves from this decision," it said.

"We do not cooperate with Nazis! Never!" tweeted Social Democrats head Lars Klingbeil.

Stefan Jagsch was voted in unanimously last week by other council members, Photo / AP

Jagsch, who also is deputy chairman for the neo-Nazi party in Hesse, has vowed to fight efforts to oust him.

The NPD has so far survived efforts to ban it. The last effort, in 2017, was thrown out by Germany's highest court which argued it was too small to pose a threat to democracy.

In recent years the neo-Nazi party has been eclipsed by the far-right Alternative fur Deutschland, which has more widespread appeal with the fringe right.

Lucia Puttich, the Christian Democrats regional head, who has been spearheading efforts to reverse the decision said eight of the nine local council members, everyone except Jagsch, had agreed to reverse the decision as of today, a move that requires a two-thirds majority.

But some have defended their decision.

"We are trying to help the people and address their issues, that's all," Norbert Szilakso, a council member for the Christian Democrats, told German TV station Deutsche Welle.

"Party membership doesn't play a role for us."

He had told local broadcaster Hessenschau that Jagsch was "collegial and calm" and what he does in private or his party was not his concern. His computer skills were what mattered.

"They voted for him because they know him personally, but they weren't aware that it's a political 'no go'," said Puttich.

"He's a wolf in sheep's skin. He seems friendly, but they didn't understand the political significance."