OpinionLudwigshafen: AfD candidate excluded from Lord Mayor election - rightly so:
Ludwigshafen has excluded AfD candidate for mayor Joachim Paul from the election ...
sueddeutsche.de/meinung/ludwigshafen-afd-bewerber-ob-wahl-gemeindeordnung-kommentar-li.3295426
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AfD Candidate Barred from Ludwigshafen Mayoral RaceIn 2025, Joachim Paul was excluded from Ludwigshafen's mayoral election through a local legal provision.
Key FactsAug 8, 2025 · Reading time: ~30 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: sueddeutsche.de
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: sueddeutsche.de
- Joachim Paul, representing the AfD, was disqualified from the Ludwigshafen mayoral election.
- A clause in the municipal code facilitates the exclusion of extremist candidates from elections.
- Nationwide, effective measures against parties like the AfD are scarce due to failed ban attempts.
- Article 18 of the Basic Law, though designed to protect democracy, is seldom enforced against hostile actors.
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Paid articlePaywallKey FactsKleinert Criticizes AfD Handling After Election Exclusion
Aug 23, 2025 · Reading time: ~45 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: sueddeutsche.de
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: sueddeutsche.de
- Joachim Paul was excluded from Ludwigshafen’s mayoral election, which Kleinert says allows the AfD to assume a victim role again.
- Kleinert regards the seemingly provincial episode as an example of the disastrous failure in confronting right-wing forces.
- He opposes the AfD but considers political confrontation with it urgently necessary, including the use of hard tactics.
- Following the AfD’s classification as a confirmed far-right extremist party, politics and society should show greater judgment, Kleinert argues.
I am anything but a friend of the AfD. The prospect that this party could, in the not-too-distant future, become the mayor of a German large city does not please me at all. Therefore, political confrontation with these people is urgently necessary. Also with hardball tactics.— From Hubert Kleinert's guest contribution on dealing with the AfD in Ludwigshafen, August 22, 2025
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Key FactsAfD Candidate Barred from Mayor Race Amid Controversy
Aug 9, 2025 · Reading time: ~45 sec.
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: schwaebische.de
Summary created with AI assistance · Source: schwaebische.de
- The election committee in Ludwigshafen blocked Joachim Paul’s mayoral bid based on a domestic intelligence report doubting his commitment to democratic principles.
- Allegations include Paul’s associations with right-wing extremists and publications deemed hostile to the constitution.
- A leftist coalition campaigned against Paul’s candidacy, while the AfD condemned the exclusion as an attack on democratic rights and plans legal action.
- Only four candidates remain in the race, with Paul seeking a court ruling to reinstate his eligibility ahead of the September 21 vote.
We actually no longer live in a democracy.— Joachim Paul comments on the state of democracy in a video on X.
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