SPD candidate will be the new mayor in Templin-AfD is just left behind!

SPD candidate will be the new mayor in Templin-AfD is just left behind!

Templin, Deutschland - On May 4, 2025, Christian Hartphiel from the SPD won the mayoral election in Templin. He received 53.8 percent of the vote, while his opponent Christian Bork achieved 46.2 percent from the AfD. This election follows a first ballot, in which Bork was 31.4 percent ahead of Hartphiel, who received only 27.4 percent of the vote. Hartphiel's victory is particularly noteworthy because it is the first choice after the AfD was classified as "secured right -wing extremist" by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

templin is located north of Berlin and has about 16,000 inhabitants. If Bork had won, he had been the first elected AfD mayor in Brandenburg and Templin could have been the second city in the state with a full-time mayor of this party. The long -time mayor Detlef Tabbert did not start to re -election and moved to the Brandenburg state government to work as a minister of infrastructure and state planning.

race and election campaign

The runoff election between Hartphiel and Bork was characterized by tensions. Hartphiel, hotel specialist and regional manager of the SPD state association Northeast, received support from the CDU, Greens and the left. On the other hand, Bork is a trained retail clerk who has headed the committee for construction, order and security since 2019. Both candidates aimed to strengthen the economy in Templin, to locate more companies, to promote influx and advance housing.

The election campaign itself was also accompanied by controversy. Hartphiel filed a complaint for fake election advertising, which damaged him, and a defamatory Facebook profile. Bork was also confronted with defamation and tried to downplay his membership in the AfD by representing the election as a choice of person and not as a parties. To this end, Bork planned a reduction in funds for the multicultural center in Templin, while Hartphiel wants to preserve these funds.

political context in Brandenburg

The winner of the mayoral election in Templin is in the context of a broader trend in Brandenburg. The AfD has recently cut off a lot in local elections and has become the strongest party in some regions. Experts like Olaf Sundermeyer refer to the earlier election result that announced this trend. Right -wing extremism is no longer perceived as a problem in the population, which the AfD benefited in its appearance and growth.

The next local election in Brandenburg is already facing on June 9, 2024, and the SPD, which has been the leading party in Brandenburg for a long time, it is more difficult to assert itself against the AfD, especially in the south of the country. The party could be challenged to make active politics and show presence to counteract the trend.