Far-right 'Free Saxony' beats AfD in mayoral election in Aue-Bad Schlema

In the German town of Aue-Bad Schlema, a candidate from the radical 'Free Saxony' movement defeated the AfD's Lars Bohmann in the first round of the mayoral election on May 10. Stefan Hartung, who supports monarchy and Saxon independence from Germany, came out on top. The result signals a shift even further right than the already-popular AfD in parts of eastern Germany.

On May 10, voters in the small German town of Aue-Bad Schlema cast their ballots in a mayoral election that shocked political observers. The frontrunner, Lars Bohmann of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, finished in fourth place. The winner of the first round was Stefan Hartung, a candidate from the far more radical 'Free Saxony' movement — a group that advocates for Saxon monarchy and separation from the Federal Republic of Germany.

The result has drawn attention across Germany as a sign that, in some corners of the country, even the AfD — currently the most popular party nationally — is no longer radical enough for a significant portion of voters. Free Saxony is considered by German domestic intelligence as an extremist organization with ties to conspiracy theories and anti-constitutional positions.

Historian and Germany specialist Dmitry Kartsev traveled to Aue-Bad Schlema to investigate why far-right politics have taken such deep root in the region. His reporting, originally published for the German-language Russian outlet Dekoder, paints a picture of a post-industrial town in Saxony where distrust of mainstream politics runs deep and radical alternatives find fertile ground.

Aue-Bad Schlema is located in the Erzgebirge district of Saxony, a region that has historically leaned conservative but has seen a dramatic radicalization in recent years. Unemployment, demographic decline, and a sense of being left behind by the federal government are frequently cited by locals as reasons for turning to protest parties.

The second round of the election is yet to take place, meaning Hartung could become the town's mayor — an outcome that would mark an unprecedented electoral success for a movement whose platform includes restoring the Saxon monarchy and withdrawing from the German federal state.