Dortmund City Council has once again approved a firewall against any cooperation with Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). In line with Social Democrat (SPD), Green, and Left Party voting, the city authorities are on course for a clash with the district government, which banned such actions.
There has been a similar case against the AfD in the near past. The city of Dortmund banned the party from using the city’s coat of arms in local elections and ordered the party to remove from or cover up the symbol on its campaign posters, even though previously the CDU and left-wing activists had been allowed to use it.
According to regional public broadcaster WDR, the ruling states:
Should it become apparent that a majority can only be achieved with these votes, a resolution will be waived.
This means that even simple issues—such as installing traffic lights—cannot be put to a vote if the AfD agrees.
Now the district government intends to act on its warning, announcing that it intends to withdraw the new proposal, as it did the previous one, citing illegality. The Düsseldorf Administrative Court ruled that a similar “firewall” decision in Kaarst was unacceptable.
According to the local government, this is a violation of municipal law and the decision degrades AfD representatives to second-class representatives. This is despite the fact that the AfD received 16,6% of the vote in the most recent local election and currently has 18 representatives on the Dortmund city council.
Mayor Thomas Westphal (SPD), who has since been removed from office, has not yet appealed the decision. Green Party leader Katrin Lögering stated
In our opinion, there is nothing to be resolved. We have a different legal opinion. We will stick to this position.
The AfD, FDP/Citizens’ List, and CDU voted against the statement. Although the CDU shares the legal concerns of the city supervisory authority, it continues to reject any kind of cooperation with the AfD. “We already made it clear during the previous election period that there would be no cooperation. Nothing has changed,” said Jendrik Suck, leader of the CDU parliamentary group.
The Dortmund controversy further highlights public animosity toward the firewall in Germany—something that the left-populist Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht could potentially break in collaboration with the AfD.
